Dark Legacy III: Return of Mephiles
by ShadowpwnLord79
Summary: Shadow and Rouge become married... just in time for all hell to break loose! Mephiles, Shade, and Mauve are back, and from the impregnable Aero Fortress, they cannot be fought, let alone defeated... or will Shadow find a way?
1. Prologue: Return of Mephiles

_**THE RETURN OF MEPHILES**_

**Prologue: Resurrection of Evil**

Shade entered his throne room, and went over to the side of the room to his throne chair.

He had just been told by Dr. Ovator that three more of their new war-machines were ready, and the Black Arms had received 500 soldiers for reinforcements, and that the Metarex had built 1,000 more of their kind.

Shade had ordered them all to secure another fallback base, in case the air fortress (now known officially as Aero Fortress) fell.

Aero Fortress was also updated with a great deal of security courtesy of Dr. Ovator's intellect. Only someone as skilled as him could get past even the basic codes.

Mauve was feeling well too (it was three weeks ago when he'd been brought on board), and the bat spent most of his time gambling (and usually winning) with some of the human personnel Dr. Ovator hired as lab assistants.

Shade hit the button on the chair's arm rest to reveal the hidden door.

Mephiles had sent word that he was healed and ready to reshape himself into his former, more powerful self.

Shade smirked to himself, wondering what kind of havoc Mephiles planned for his vengeance.

He entered, and bowed slightly before the life-support tube Mephiles was in.

The ooze was thicker now, and more stable. The green eyes were shut, but could still be clearly seen.

"Master?" Shade asked.

Mephiles opened his eyes. "Ah, Shade..." he greeted. "Yes, I've finally healed completely. Now, the time has arrived for my resurrection!"

Shade bowed. "Very well then, master" he said. "I'll transfer you to your new host."

Shade hit a sequence of nearby buttons, opening a small duct in Mephiles' life-support tube.

The Black Arms healing liquid drained out the bottom, and Mephiles oozed out the duct.

Shade used the purple Chaos Emerald to lift the ooze, and carry his master over to the 3-D image they'd prepared.

Mephiles approached it, and entered the shadow.

There was a flash of dark energy, and then a being slowly formed itself out of the shadow.

Mephiles' green eyes reappeared on a deformed, mocking image of a hedgehog's head, blazing with hate.

Mephiles' body then took on its previous, hellish demon form, and he tightened his fists to feel his old strength.

Mephiles chuckled. "And so, I stand before the world, REBORN!!" he cried dramatically.

Shade smiled broadly, and bowed lowly.

Mephiles took in a deep breath, created some ooze on his right arm to form a dark blade, and then redrew it.

"Yes... I greatly appreciate this, Shade" Mephiles said quietly. "You continue to prove yourself to be quite an asset... and it redeems you for your failure to slay Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shade trembled slightly, and bowed even lower. "Forgive me, master" he said. "I swear to you, I will not fail you again."

Mephiles nodded. "You had better... next time, I will not be so generous" he hissed. "Regardless, you have more than made up for your failure, and you are a great asset, nonetheless... and Shadow is a mighty adversary. You are forgiven... but don't push your luck."

Shade rose back to his feet, but kept his head and waist bowed slightly. "Thank you, my lord" he said. "I am grateful."

Mephiles nodded. "But, enough of this" he said, and they left and entered the throne room. "Tell me, Shade; what are the circumstances of this fortress we're on."

"A few thousand Metarex and a few thousand Black Arms guard it" Shade told him. "Two Metarex are of powerful status, and we have 60 Black Arms giants with us, and 130 Black Arm Elite soldiers. And I've hired a mercenary, a very capable one..."

"And here he is" a voice spoke. Mephiles and Shade turned to see a devious bat wearing a smirk enter the room.

Shade's eye twitched in disgust, but he still tried to look respectful. "Master Mephiles;" he said, "Allow me to introduce our mercenary: Mauve the Bat."

Mephiles raised his head slightly. "Greetings" he said simply.

Mauve nodded. "So... you're Mephiles, huh?" he said. "Shorter than I expect-" Suddenly, Mauve found himself getting very cold and stiff, and found it difficult to breathe.

Mephiles had triggered a dark, swirling energy around Mauve that was slowly sucking the life energy out of him.

"You would be wise to show me respect, bat" Mephiles said calmly, and released the energy.

Mauve gasped and stood up straight as the circulation and warmth returned, and he breathed deeply.

"Yes... sir" he said reluctantly.

Mephiles narrowed his eyes. "Master..." he hissed.

"Er... master" Mauve corrected, and bowed his head slightly.

Mephiles nodded. "Good enough" he said. "Now, Shade, are we ready to strike back at those scum who dismantled my dynasty?"

Shade was silent. "Well, master, many of your old followers have been destroyed by G.U.N." he said. "Aside from the 6,000 or so Metarex and Black Arms on the Aero Fortress, only 1,500 others reside, securing a hidden fall-back base."

"What?!" Mephiles snarled. "That's not nearly enough to fight our enemies!!"

Mauve sighed. "You know... eh, 'master'... numbers don't necessarily win battles; strength and skill in individuals is essential as well" he said.

"Perhaps..." Mephiles growled. "You wouldn't know anything about that, or else you wouldn't have let that bat friend of Shadow's escape!"

Mauve frowned and growled lowly, but kept his mouth shut.

"Actually, master, a human recruit of ours named Dr. Ovator is constructing several very powerful, deadly weapons that will help greatly against our foes" Shade put in.

Mephiles faced him. "Let me see them" he ordered.

"Yes, my lord" Shade said with a bow. "Please, this way."

Mephiles followed Shade out of the room with Mauve in tow. They passed Metarex and Black Alien guards on the way, all whom bowed lowly at the return of their glorious master.

Shade led Mephiles through many complicated hallways, and they finally entered a large laboratory adjoined to a manufacturing area.

Mephiles glanced around. Over three dozen human personnel worked hard at their stations, reviewing codes and data and schematics and what not.

Shade led Mephiles over to an assembly line, where two humans conversed.

"Dr. Ovator!" Shade said to the slightly chubbier one. The scientist faced them, and the other one left.

"Lord Mephiles the Dark wishes to see what we've been working on" Shade said.

"Ah yes, of course master" Ovator said, bowed, and polished his glasses. "Here..."

Several lights flashed on, and revealed ten identical robots lined up on the assembly line, four which weren't complete yet.

Mephiles narrowed his eyes slightly. "They look familiar..." he said.

"They should" Ovator said. "These are replicas of the Ultimate Weapon, the Gizoid!"

Mephiles' eyes widened. "How could you possibly replicate that?" he said. "Unimaginable power went into that thing... the ancient civilization had a much more knowledgeable grasp on Chaos powers and technology..."

"I know, I know!" Ovator said. "But using the Metarex's technology, and Dr. Eggman's brilliant studies on the Gizoid, I was able to put the power of a copy Chaos Emerald into each of them! And using the shattered remains of the Gizoid my men were able to find, we were able to replicate the technology very well!"

"Why only ten?" Mephiles asked.

"Well, we weren't able to recover more of the Gizoid to risk making one weaker than the others. Although, the one we've planted with a tiny fragment of the Gizoid's core seems to be overall more skilled in most aspects. I've named him Zarox, which means 'great destroyer' in the language of the ancient civilization that built the Gizoid."

Mephiles nodded. "How powerful are they?" he asked.

"Each is about as skilled as the original Gizoid when he holds four Chaos Emeralds, but their intelligence is controlled completely by us, at this command and control area-" Ovator motioned to a very large screen with two scientists working at it. "Thanks to the discovery Eggman made on how to self-replicate Chaos energy..."

"I don't want to hear anymore of that old scum-kisser's scientific finds!!" Mephiles snapped, and the room silenced in his wrath. "That over-inflated windbag betrayed me and it cost me my victory, and my reunion with Iblis!! I will hear NO MORE of him!!"

"Y-Yes, my lord..." Ovator stuttered. "A-Anyway, these Gizoid replicas- we've named them Havocs- will be completely under our control to do your bidding, master. Oh, and we have something else we'd like to show you..."

One final light flashed on, and Mephiles gasped...

There, among the Havoc mechs, stood a motionless Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Don't worry master" Ovator said, grinning that even Mephiles was fooled by the android's realistic detail and texture. "This is a Shadow Android Mark III. We improved the original Shadow Androids for the Mark II with better weaponry and armor, but it couldn't handle it very well without a proper energy source, which is where the Mark III came in. Again using Chaos Emerald replication technology from the Metarex, and self-replicating Chaos Energy technology, it has the power of five Chaos Emeralds, and can act exactly like Shadow. Watch:"

With a click of a button from the mech control area, the Shadow Android Mark III leapt down, and looked around.

"Proceeding with orders" it said in a voice exactly like Shadow's.

Mephiles laughed. "Excellent!!" he chuckled. "Now, I have a mission for you... using this new, very realistic Shadow Android. We shall use it to kill all of Shadow's allies, and when he stands alone, I shall crush him!!"

Mephiles cackled dramatically in his dark glory.


	2. Chapter One: The Power of Commitment

Chapter One: The Power of Commitment

**Chapter One: The Power of Commitment**

Shadow was asleep at a desk, snoring softly, with half-written invitations to his wedding scattered across the table.

He and Rouge had been working hard for the past few weeks, and the wedding was in four days from that day. Over 100 people (most were friends/relatives of Rouge, but some were people Shadow had worked with in his G.U.N. career) had to be invited, and Shadow was only done with seventy of them.

When he was about 30 invitations through about an hour ago, Rouge called and asked his opinion on tablecloths for the wedding, which took a long, stressful fifteen minutes as Rouge listed the varieties. Rouge and he just randomly agreed on one.

"Jeez, just so long as it's not floral!" Shadow had said with a heavy sigh.

Rouge had sighed on the other end as well. "Okay, the ivory white one is okay with you?" she had asked. "I really don't care that much anymore..."

"Yeah, that's fine" Shadow replied, and thought with a smirk how it would match Rouge's soft, beautiful fur.

"Okay... thanks hon" Rouge had said. "Love you!"

"Love you too" Shadow had replied, and the conversation ended.

It was now about 1:00 in the afternoon.

Shadow had been quickly trying to finish the invitations, as it was their last chance to get them out. But he'd grown sick of it, and fallen asleep, dreaming of Rouge laying before him, clad in revealing, silky clothes, and he bent down to snuggle her, kiss her, and love her, he never wanted to wake up, the dream was so real...

Rouge came back into the house, and threw her keys to Shadow's motorcycle on a table (as it went faster than her car, and it gave her more of a sense of freedom to drive).

Rouge glanced over at Shadow's sleeping form, and smirked.

She finished about ten more invitations, and ruffled Shadow's quills.

"Wake up, Mr. Shady" she said with a giggle.

Shadow mumbled, and awoke. He yawned widely, but while his mouth was open, Rouge stuck her tongue in, giggling.

Shadow chuckled and played with her tongue, enjoying the taste as part of his recent dream/fantasy came true.

Rouge giggled and stroked his white fur, and broke it after a good two minutes. "Sleepy?" she asked, resting her head on Shadow's chest.

"Yeah... all these damn invitations" Shadow replied, nuzzling Rouge's cheek.

Rouge smiled and chuckled cutely, and gently nibbled his ear. "Here, let me give you a hand there..." she said.

Shadow smiled in thanks, and they quickly finished the invitations together.

"Is that all?" Shadow asked.

Rouge thought for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah... I think it is" she replied. Rouge breathed in deeply. "We're ready to get married!"

They let that thought linger awhile, trying to let the reality of it sink in.

Shadow cleared his throat and gathered the invitations. "I'm going to go mail these" he told her.

Rouge smiled at him and caressed his fur. "Hurry back..." she said with a giggle. "I have a surprise for you when you get back..."

Shadow chuckled, and stood up. "I'll be back soon" he said, and kissed Rouge on the cheek.

Rouge giggled again and lightly kissed Shadow's lips. "See ya" she said with a tiny wave as Shadow left the house.

Shadow chuckled to himself, mounted his motorcycle, and departed to the post office.

Meanwhile

Sonic and Amy walked down the busy street of the city, arms entwined.

Amy nuzzled Sonic's cheek and the blue hedgehog stroked her cheek lovingly.

The two had grown very close over the weeks, and Sonic was now just as deep into the relationship as Amy.

They had each changed, too. Amy wasn't so hot-tempered anymore and while she was still the hyperactive girl she always had been, Amy had come to have more and more peaceful, calm moments. And some of Sonic's arrogance had eroded a bit, and he thought things through a little more thoroughly.

Amy kissed Sonic on the cheek, and Sonic smiled and nuzzled her hair.

"What do you wanna do?" Amy asked.

"I dunno... hang out at the park, go back to your place, or go adventuring through a jungle or something..." Sonic suggested.

Amy sighed happily, but then frowned. "You know, we haven't gotten an invitation to Shadow and Rouge's wedding... and it's just next week!" she said, suddenly nervous.

"Hey, hey, don't worry!" Sonic said with his typical grin. "Maybe Shadow just got his tongue stuck to a stamp, or he forgot where the post office is, or if Rouge was going to send them out, she got her wings caught in a-"

"Caught in a WHAT, Sonic?" a dark voice said from behind.

Sonic and Amy turned to see Shadow walking behind them, carrying a large amount of envelopes in a rubber band.

"Oh, hey Shad-Shad!" Sonic greeted.

"Only Rouge can call me that" Shadow growled. "And don't talk about us behind our backs! I gotta get these invitations out today or the wedding's ruined..."

"Is ours in there?" Amy asked.

Shadow quickly flipped through the envelopes, found it, and tossed it to them carelessly.

"You should be grateful I agreed to invite you" Shadow told them as he passed on to the nearby post office. "Maybe you can practice good behavior there... but that's wishful thinking on my part. Farewell."

Shadow just passed on and entered the post office.

Amy 'hmphed'. "What a rude hedgehog" she said.

"Remind me; why are we going to their wedding anyway?" Sonic asked.

"BECAUSE, Sonic, maybe we can see the sweet side of them!" Amy pointed out with a smile. "You know I don't like them, but it'd be nice to see them in a nice romantic spot for once. Plus, weddings are always so beautiful! And we can go there, and use the experience for our wedding!!"

Sonic couldn't help but smile; the idea of marriage was strong on their minds as well, but they both wanted to see how Shadow and Rouge got along as husband and wife before going into it much more.

Sonic and Amy sighed happily in unison, and walked on.

The two of them decided to go to the theaters to see a movie that had been based on the adventure they'd gone on over a year ago when they'd attacked Mephiles' fortress on the mountain (In _Ultimate Darkness_, as you may recall).

Sonic heard from Knuckles that the movie was pretty accurate, only the actors sounded nothing like them.

Back to Shadow

The angst hedgehog removed the rubber band off the envelopes, and dumped them all into the send-out box.

Luckily, all the guests were fairly local, so they should all get their invitations in time.

Shadow walked out of the building and over to his motorcycle.

Suddenly, he kinda stiffened.

"Whoa... I'm getting married..." he muttered to himself, and the reality finally sank in, and he felt weak.

Shadow couldn't believe it; Rouge, his partner, his friend, and then his lover, and now his fiancé, and soon-to-be-bride?!

Unbelievable; The Ultimate Life Form had gone Ultimately Soft.

Shadow regained himself, and drove off.

With Sonic and Amy

They were at the point in the movie where Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Knuckles and Amy battled Mephiles near his altar.

The special effects were amazing, the music and sound effects were dramatic, but Sonic and Amy were a little irritated on how inaccurate the voices were.

"I sound like I'm going through puberty!!" Sonic hissed to Amy.

Amy nodded. "And I sound 8 years older than I was!" she pointed out.

Sonic nodded. "Still, this is pretty good..." he admitted.

"Yeah... they made my dress pretty cute!" Amy said with a laugh.

Sonic chuckled, and Amy leaned her head onto his shoulder. Sonic tightened his grasp a little, but kept it gentle.

Amy kissed his neck, and breathed on it in passion...

Sonic, knowing they kinda had the section of the room to themselves, locked lips with her in great passion.

Their tongues tasted each other, and Amy moaned softly in pleasure.

They ended the kiss, and Amy got up, and plopped down on Sonic's lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sonic grinned, and put an arm around her waist, and they watched the movie.

Back at Shadow and Rouge's

Shadow put the keys down, shut the door behind him and locked it. It was getting a bit dark out, and it was getting darker earlier as autumn started to close in. Summer's warmth still lingered on a little, but air conditioners and fans were on quite a bit less often.

Shadow went into the bedroom, wondering what Rouge's surprise would be...

When Shadow came in, he saw Rouge sitting on the bed, wearing a robe.

She grinned broadly. "Hey, Shad-Shad" she said cutely.

Shadow smiled back. "Hello" he said, approaching her.

Rouge giggled, undid her robe, and let it fall off of her.

She wore only a tiny hot-pink bra that covered little more than the nipples, and a thong.

Shadow's eyes widened, and then he smirked.

Rouge walked towards him, and pushed him on the bed and pounced on top of Shadow.

They locked lips in a passionate kiss, Shadow licking the inside of Rouge's mouth and caressing her.

Rouge giggled and licked the inside of Shadow's ear, and then locked lips again.

Shadow went on top of Rouge and kissed her neck, making her moan a little.

Rouge stopped for a second, and reached over to the bedside table, and grabbed a dark bottle.

"What's that?" Shadow asked.

Rouge smirked. "Chocolate syrup" she replied deviously.

Before Shadow could reply, Rouge poured some onto Shadow's stomach, and licked it off, moaning.

Shadow laid back and relaxed as Rouge put chocolate syrup on his face, nose, legs and so forth and licked it off, making Shadow snicker and smirk widely as he enjoyed the sensation.

Then, Rouge poured a little on Shadow's abs, and licked it up and kissed the abs as she passed them, and then poured it on Shadow's lower stomach, making Shadow squirm.

Finally, Shadow couldn't control himself, and he went back on top of Rouge, kissing and licking her and making Rouge's moans increasingly louder.

Shadow kissed the exposed, lower portion of Rouge's breasts, and then he poured the chocolate syrup inbetween them, making Rouge gasp and then moan softly.

Shadow removed the bra, and licked the syrup off. Then Shadow put just a little bit more syrup on each nipple, the oozy liquid making Rouge's nipples erect.

She moaned louder as Shadow licked the chocolate off her and then suckled gently on each.

"Oh Shadow... OH!" Rouge moaned louder.

Shadow snickered, and just poured the chocolate all over Rouge, making her gasp.

Shadow frowned as the bottle was now empty and Rouge was covered in chocolate syrup.

"Sorry..." Shadow said, but Rouge just shook her head and licked some from her fingers.

"Clean up the mess you made, you naughty hedgehog" Rouge giggled devilishly.

Shadow chuckled, and licked up all the syrup, kissed Rouge's stomach, cleaned her breasts and suckled on them and caressed them gently.

Rouge moaned even louder.

Shadow licked her legs clean, making Rouge tremble in pleasure.

"Uh-Oh... your thong's stained" Shadow chuckled. "Better get it off so we can clean it later..."

Rouge giggled. "Oh Shadow!" she laughed. "Now you're just acting stupid!"

Shadow blushed. "Well... hey, I'm still new to this talk!" he pointed out.

Shadow shook his head, and bit down on the rim of Rouge's chocolate-stained thong, and used his mouth to slowly peel it off.

When it was gone, Shadow found them wet with something other than syrup...

Shadow lay back on top of Rouge. They smiled at each other, and kissed.

Rouge giggled again, and removed Shadow's gloves and kicked off Shadow's fire-skates.

Rouge put one of her long, smooth legs over Shadow, and she used the other to tickle the bottom of Shadow's left foot.

Shadow snickered, and when Rouge was done, he gently caressed her breasts and gave them each a gentle squeeze, and pinched the nipples, making Rouge gasp again.

Then, Shadow lowered his face down to Rouge's legs, whom spread them open for him. Shadow slowly eased the tip of his tongue to Rouge's opening, and tasted her fluids.

Rouge gasped sharply. "Oh God..." she whimpered in pleasure.

Shadow pushed his tongue in deeper, drinking deeply from Rouge's sweet, sweet juice.

Rouge's body trembled from the pleasure, and then Shadow slowly eased up, and penetrated Rouge's opening.

Rouge screamed out Shadow's name, and Shadow gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tight from the intense pleasure.

"ROUGE!!" Shadow called, and started thrusting harder and faster.

Rouge squealed, and tightened her legs around Shadow, bringing him in even deeper.

Rouge screamed out again, and tears welled up in her eyes, the pleasure was so great.

Shadow opened his eyes, breathing heavily. "I love you..." he said, practically sounding like a different person, the voice was so heavy with passion.

"I... UNH! I... love you too... Shadow..." Rouge gasped, managing a smile before the powerful, wondrous climax hit.

They both cried out at the top of their lungs as the pleasure hit its highest point, and their perception was thrown off, it was so intense.

Shadow collapsed onto Rouge, and realized she had passed out from the experience.

Shadow gave her a gentle shake, and Rouge's eyes opened wearily.

She smiled at him. "That was... Jesus, that was unbelievable..." Rouge whispered. "You were amazing..."

Shadow snuggled up to her, and kissed her again. "This was the best surprise yet..." he chuckled.

Rouge picked up the empty syrup bottle, and managed to get a little more out, and licked it up.

Shadow put a little more on Rouge's lips, and kissed them again.

"Mmm... chocolate cherry" Shadow chuckled softly.

Rouge chuckled again, and they embraced each other.

"I love you, Shadow..." Rouge whispered.

"And I love you..." Shadow replied sleepily.

Then, they fell asleep in another loving embrace.

And further commitment was yet to come.


	3. The Big Day

**Chapter Three: Holy Matrimony**

Shadow rubbed a little men's cologne on his face, giving him a faint, good-smelling scent, but wasn't anything feminine like a floral scent or anything.

Kaynyx came in again.

Shadow looked up, half-dreading what the wolf was about to say.

Kaynyx drew a deep breath, and managed a smile.

"They're ready, Shadow" he said.

Shadow's eyes widened, he drew in a shaky breath, and nodded.

Shadow proceeded to the door, but his legs weakened and gave way.

Kaynyx hurried over and steadied Shadow on his legs.

"Are you alright, Shadow?" Kaynyx asked.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine" Shadow said, cleared his throat, and left the room, occasionally wobbling a little but otherwise fine.

With Rouge

Rouge adjusted her head veil slightly, and looked in the mirror once again.

She heard knocking, and her breathing came harder.

"C-Come in" Rouge called.

Moonlight opened the door, and took a deep breath.

"Rouge, they say it's... y' know, time" Moonlight told her.

Rouge nodded, and approached the door.

"Oh, Moonlight... Thank you so much for everything!!" Rouge squealed.

"Ah, Rouge, what are sisters for?" Moonlight replied. "I can't believe you're finally getting married to Shadow! He's perfect for you, hon!"

They hugged each other tightly in that close friend/sisterly way.

Moonlight smiled, and found a tear at her eye.

"Moony, come on, if you cry, then I'm gonna cry and I promised I wouldn't cry today unless I got drunk at the reception" Rouge told her.

Moonlight dabbed away the tear. "Well... y-you best get going, hon" she said. "I wish mom and dad were here... they'd love to see this..."

Rouge smiled gently. "Shadow told me they are watching... along with his old friend, Maria" she said softly.

Moonlight smiled, and nodded. "Well, c'mon" she said. "Don't forget your flowers."

Rouge grabbed the bouquet, and they left the room.

* * *

In the Sanctuary, where the wedding would take place

* * *

Shadow stood with Kaynyx and the priest at the altar, now only awaiting Rouge's arrival.

Sonic and Amy were in the second row on the right, snuggled up close. To Sonic's left sat Tails, and to Amy's right sat Knuckles.

The red echidna felt quite alone, at Shadow and Rouge's wedding while Sonic and Amy expressed their love next to him. Knuckles was yet to find a loving companion.

He'd considered trying to get together with the female echidna Tikal, but she hadn't been seen since about a week or so after Sonic defeated the beast Chaos all those years ago.

Knuckles sighed, and folded his arms.

Cream was the flower girl, and would soon be coming in to throw flowers about, and Silver would be the ring-bearer.

Blaze sat towards the back, only chatting every now and then with strangers.

The Chaotix Agency was talking to quiet a few people (Vector in particular), and made a good deal of noise on their own.

Occasionally the crocodile would sneeze, which startled lots of people, particularly Shadow (any noise that broke the hub of chatter in there made his heart jump, thinking it might be the piano playing the bride's march).

Kaynyx often muttered encouraging words to Shadow, but they did little more than distract him from the fear he felt.

Finally, the crowd hushed, and the bridal march began to play.

Shadow and everyone else turned to see Cream enter, and gently throw flowers about. Everyone smiled gently and some even clapped as the cute little rabbit literally hopped down the aisle.

Shadow even smirked slightly and shook his head, and Kaynyx chuckled nearby.

Moonlight then entered and hurried up to the altar.

"She'll be here in a sec" she whispered with a wink.

Her sisters, Daisy and Buttercup, waved from the crowd. Jewel acknowledged her with a smile and nod only.

Then, Rouge entered, and everyone rose respectfully.

Shadow's mouth went slack as his lover walked towards him.

Rouge's sleek, silver gown looked so beautiful and sexy, and her beautiful, aqua eyes looked at him from under that white veil with such powerful love Shadow's heart went warm.

And Rouge herself felt a little woozy and light-headed when Shadow's crimson eyes looked back with love stronger than the mightiest blade ever forged.

Everyone smiled at her beautiful appearance, and Sonic and Amy tightly grasped each other's hands.

Rouge finally got on the altar, and Shadow took her hand and helped her up the last few steps.

The priest smiled as the two firmly held hands.

"Dearly beloved..." he began...

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Mauve watched as the ceremony began from a window high above the chapel.

Suddenly, his communicator went off.

"Mauve, are you there?" it asked sharply.

"I'm here... master" Mauve replied wearily.

"We have a new assignment for you, or at least, we might. Regardless, you must return to the Aero Fortress at once. Your current assignment must be postponed."

Mauve sighed. "How much is the job paying, my lord?" he asked, trying to sound respectful.

"If it is what we think, you shall receive 1,000,000 in cash" the dark voice spoke. "Your current mission will resume once this one is accomplished, or our sources prove false."

Mauve snickered. "As you command, master" he said, and the link broke.

Unbelievable; his payments had never gone above 800,000 at one time in his whole mercenary career, even for assassinations of world-leaders!!

Whatever this assignment was, it was obvious Mauve's new employer wanted the bat at his best for the top-priority mission...

With that 1 million and the 610,000 he was being offered for this surveillance/possible kidnapping mission added on to what Shade had earlier on paid, would make Mauve rich enough to afford a long, leisurely, living-like-a-king retirement.

Of course, Mauve would still have the occasional assassination for fun, but relaxation suited him fine, too.

The wicked bat spread his wings, and stealthily flew away.

* * *

Back at the altar

* * *

Cream now sat by her mother as the ceremony continued. Her mom, Vanilla, wiped away a tear as the priest was just about to wed the dark lovers.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, do you take Rouge the Bat to be your lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and health? Will you comfort her, and love her truly?" the priest asked Shadow.

Shadow nodded with a gentle, sincere smile. "I do" he replied with the utmost honesty and sincerity.

The priest turned to Rouge. "Rouge the Bat, do you take Shadow the Hedgehog to be your lawfully wedded husband, through sickness and health? Will you comfort him and love him truly?"

Rouge smiled, and fought a tear back a tear. "I do" she replied just as sincerely and warm as Shadow had.

The priest smiled.

"I now pronounce this couple, husband and wife!" he announced. "You may kiss the bride."

Shadow lifted Rouge's veil, and they embraced each other in a powerful, loving, passionate kiss, and the crowd applauded.

The two stayed that way for quite awhile, neither wanting to relinquish the moment.

When the kiss ended, Shadow and Rouge gazed deeply at one another, and smiled.

Never in their lives had they felt so happy, secure, and whole.

Soon, the room was cleared out, and the reception was about to begin.

Shadow lifted Rouge bridal style, and she nuzzled his face while he carried her out, adorning Rouge's forehead with kisses.

At last, they'd found what was missing from their lives for so long.


	4. Holy Matrimony

Chapter Three: Holy Matrimony

**Chapter Four: Blissful Atmosphere**

The reception was in the neighboring building of the church, and already it was filled with guests, drinks and food were being served, and people offered their congratulations to the newly weds.

Knuckles went over to the bar, and got a couple bucks out of his wallet.

"I'll just have a club soda, I'm driving tonight" he told the bartender, who smiled at Knuckles' cash.

"This is an open-bar sir, everything's free" she told Knuckles.

The echidna put away his money. "I'll have a bottle of scotch then" he replied with a smirk.

( xD)

Sonic and Amy sat at a table, by themselves, talking about their own future wedding, about what they might change from Shadow and Rouge's wedding, and just laughed and they were happy about the whole thing.

"I suggest vanilla cake rather than chocolate" Amy told Sonic softly as she sat on the blue hedgehog's lap.

"Yeah... that's more traditional" Sonic agreed. "And a priest who moves on with the ceremony a little faster; the sooner the better, you know!"

Amy giggled, and they gave each other a quick smooch on the lips.

"Agreed, Sonic-poo" Amy said.

Sonic tried not to grimace at the nickname (for obvious reasons), and merely continued to smile and nod.

Shadow and Rouge passed by, their arms entwined.

Sonic was amazed how Shadow laughed in joy with her... he was so different today.

Of course, if he mentioned it, Shadow would probably get angry for a short while, attack Sonic, and then go back to happy-Shad again.

Rouge giggled a little and nuzzled Shadow's cheek.

Shadow's face turned bright red when he saw Sonic and Amy, and he hurried Rouge and himself on past.

As soon as they had a little privacy, Rouge jumped onto Shadow, putting her legs around Shadow's waist and her arms around his chest.

Rouge giggled warmly. "Now you're my hubby, aren't you Shad-Shad?" she giggled.

Shadow chuckled in a seductive way and nibbled Rouge's ear, making her giggle harder.

"I love you, my dark angel..." Shadow whispered. "And now that we're married, our love is more powerful than ever..."

Rouge kissed Shadow on the cheek, and got back on her feet. "True, Shadow... very true" she agreed, and nuzzled Shadow's chest fur, and Shadow caressed her hair gently.

The love in the air was almost overpowering.

Now the reception was underway.

The band was playing a rather exciting classic rock song for the guests' entertainment.

Knuckles was talking to Sonic and Amy (still drinking his scotch), and were discussing their own relationships.

"So... Sonic, you engaged Amy yet?" Knuckles asked and took another swig.

Sonic shook his head. "We're going to give it a little more time" he told him.

Amy nodded, her arms around Sonic's neck. "We're going to savor it a little more than Shadow and Rouge did" she said.

Knuckles nodded. "Unusual, Sonic" he said. "You're usually faster than that about everything."

"We're just trying to be calm and precise about this" Sonic said, frowning slightly. "Use our heads, y' know."

"ARE YOU SAYING I DON'T USE MY HEAD?!" Knuckles bellowed, and left the table.

Amy 'hmphed' and crossed her arms irritably.

"Amy, don't worry" Sonic assured her and put an arm around her. "Knuckles is probably kinda upset he doesn't have anyone. I'd feel kinda down if almost everyone else was getting together, y' know."

Tails came by just then. "Hey Sonic!" he said, and him Sonic high-fived like the best-buddies they were.

"Hey Tails!" Sonic said. "How you doing?"

"Good!" Tails said. "I'm really eager for Shadow and Rouge to open my wedding gift, you wanna know what it is?"

"Sure!" Sonic replied with a grin.

Tails went over to Sonic's ear.

"I built them a portable TV screen that can fold up and unfold into over 200 different sizes! It also came with several high-def speakers! And it's self-powered by a copy Emerald-shard I made! It only needs to be recharged after 20 hours of being watched, and can be fully charged within 30 minutes!"

Sonic nodded approvingly. "Sounds cool, bud!" he said with a thumbs-up.

Tails smiled sheepishly and went slightly red. "Aw... jeez, Sonic, it's nothing Shadow and Rouge probably don't have already..."

Sonic chuckled and gave the young fox a pat on the back.

It occurred to Sonic that Tails hadn't found anyone either... not that Tails was as upset as Knuckles, probably because Tails was still a bit young to be seriously thinking about it.

Shadow and Rouge, meanwhile, were sitting apart from everyone, cuddled up with each other.

Rouge was resting her head on Shadow's chest, gently nuzzling Shadow's fur as they held each other and she rested on Shadow's lap.

Shadow kissed Rouge's cute little nose, and nuzzled it with his own nose.

Then, a slow, gentle song began to play, and the dancers began to dance closer, and very slowly.

Rouge perked up a little. "Shadow, can we please dance to this?" she asked.

Shadow was appalled by the idea, but showed it with only a small frown.

"Rouge, the day I dance is the day I serve Eggman again" he grumbled.

Rouge smirked. "It's not hard, Shadow" she said. "Just keep your hands on my hips, and move with me."

Shadow sighed, smiled slightly, and nodded. "Okay, but just this one time" he said. "And just cause you're my wife now."

They both smiled at that, and gently kissed again.

"C'mon then!" Rouge said, and dragged Shadow out to the dance floor.

Amy and Sonic were already there, as were quite a few other people.

Moonlight, Daisy, Buttercup, and Jewel were each dancing with someone (they all threw a wink and Shadow and Rouge at the fact she had convinced him to dance).

The G.U.N. commander was there even, dancing with an elderly woman everyone presumed to be his wife.

Despite her age, she was still quite beautiful.

Shadow and Rouge were now dancing very slowly to the song that played (the song called "Whenever you Come Around", picked by Rouge, for she said it was how it felt before her relationship to Shadow became official).

Shadow put his hands on Rouge's hips, and she put her arms on his strong shoulders.

They danced slowly in small steps and slow swivels. The whole time they gazed into each other's eyes, mesmerized by the magic of the moment; together, close, husband and wife at last, the romantic music...

They'd never been happier.

Then, two new dancers joined. Rouge looked up just long enough to see Silver and Blaze join each other.

Rouge's eyes widened and she giggled.

"Hey Shad?" she said with a snicker.

"Yeah?" Shadow replied softly.

"Looks like Blaze lightened up for Silver!" Rouge giggled.

Shadow looked up and almost snorted in humor as he saw Silver and Blaze dance in an intimate space.

"Weird... I never thought Blaze to do something like this..." Shadow said.

Rouge giggled. "I could say the same for you, Shad" she replied.

Shadow got a little red in the face, but continued dancing.

When the dance was over, Shadow and Rouge were called over to cut the wedding cake.

When they cut the pieces, Shadow was about to take a bite, but Rouge smooshed her piece on Shadow's face, and everyone laughed.

Shadow growled, but smirked and stuffed his piece into Rouge mouth, making everyone laugh again and applaud.

"I take it we're SUPPOSED to do this then?" Shadow asked, eating some cake off his face.

Rouge giggled. "Yeah; it's tradition, Shad!" she replied.

Shadow chuckled.

Knuckles, meanwhile, was quite intoxicated by now.

While everyone was eating, he walked over to Shadow and Rouge's table.

"AH!! Shladow th' hedgehag!" he slurred and laughed. "Marraed (married) th' bat now, eh? GOOD!! Now sheez Mrs. Hedghag!"

Shadow eyed him. "You think her last name's hedgehog?" he asked as if Knuckles was the dumbest person ever to exist.

Knuckles didn't notice, looked at Rouge, and chuckled in a jolly way. "AH!! Mrs. Hedgehag th' BAT!" he laughed.

Shadow and Rouge just stared at him.

Knuckles walked back towards the bar. "BARTENDER!! Gimme' some scotch!" he laughed.

Shadow and Rouge looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

Everyone else was having a good time.

Silver was asking Blaze if they could spend some time together tomorrow night (basically asking her out. )

Blaze smiled slightly. "Well... yeah, s-sure, I don't see why not" she replied.

Silver's face was a bright red, and his telekinetic powers went with his emotions, and raised a few nearby tables and silverware a few feet off the ground.

"Well... th-thanks Blaze" Silver said, and realized he what his powers were doing accidentally.

Silver slowly eased them down, blushing deeper in embarrassment.

Blaze chuckled slightly, and patted Silver on the back.

Sonic and Amy, meanwhile, were gently kissing each other and feeding each other cake.

Vector was talking with Cream's mother, and Espio struggled to restrain Charmy from making fun of the crocodile.

Then, it was time for Shadow and Rouge to open their wedding gifts.

The first was from Sonic and Amy.

Shadow stood by while Rouge tore away the wrapping paper (all the presents were wrapped in black gift wrapping decorated with Chaos Emeralds of varying colors).

Sonic and Amy's gift was an expensive-looking pot roast, and a bonus 75 check enclosed in it.

The next was an envelope from G.U.N., in which were 10,000 checks for each of them to spend.

Next was Tails' gift.

Rouge was quite pleased with it, and hugged the young fox.

"Thanks kid!" she laughed.

Shadow smiled and nodded in thanks, but was otherwise silent.

Next was from Charmy.

Rouge and Shadow just stared at the wrapping.

"I'm not opening it" Rouge whispered. "There could be a freakin' bomb in that thing!"

"Well, I for one am not going to be poisoned or pranked or whatever the little brat planned!" Shadow hissed.

So, they decided the old-fashioned way:

Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Rouge got scissors, and Shadow got paper.

Shadow took a deep breath, and opened the wrapping...

And was hit in the face with a pie (OMG!! Classic! XD)

Everyone stifled an outrageous laugh, but the Chaotix started in horror (Charmy snickered quietly).

"Charmy!!" Espio hissed. "I told you NO pie!! Absolutely NO freakin' pie!!"

Vector rubbed his forehead (a complicated place to locate on a crocodile XD).

"Charmy, how many times do I have to say it? No pranks at special occasions!!" he growled. "Your pranks in the office are bad enough!"

"Ah boss, you worry-" Charmy started to reply, but was grabbed by the collar and was face-to-face with a cream-faced, totally pissed-off Shadow.

"YOU... ARE... DEAD" Shadow told him.

Charmy squealed, squirmed out of Shadow's grasp, and flew away.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU DEMON FODDER!!" Shadow bellowed, and chased after the mischievous bee.

Everyone laughed. When Charmy was finally caught after almost a half-hour, Shadow had calmed down enough to let Charmy go with little more than a smack upside the head and a promise from the other Chaotix that Charmy would be bounced from other events Shadow and Rouge had in the future.

The rest of the gifts were nice, however.

Knuckles' was a small set of old-looking but also very rich wine-glasses. Knuckles told them (or at least Sonic translated from the echidna's drunken stupor) that he'd found those treasure-cups in some ruins near Angel Island, and had no use for the cups anyway.

Then there was Silver and Blaze's gift; a Blue-Ray Disc player, along with some Blue-Ray movies that Silver and Blaze knew Shadow and Rouge would like.

There was also 50 enclosed with it.

There were various other gifts, mostly very nice house-appliances and checks.

After that, everyone was hanging out awhile at the building. Knuckles was unconscious, and had to be carried out by Sonic and Tails.

Shadow and Rouge packed up the remaining wedding cake for later, and then they left.

In two hours, a plane was leaving to their honeymoon suite on the beach at Sea Gate.

Shadow drove Rouge there on the motorbike with the words "Just Married" on the back.

For them, all was perfect, and unscathed.


	5. Blissful Atmosphere

Chapter Three: Holy Matrimony

**Chapter Five: The Ultimate Task**

* * *

**At Aero Fortress**

* * *

Mauve entered the command center of the Havoc bots, where the last three were beginning their final phases of construction.

He was told to wait here to be briefed on his next assignment.

The only scientists in the room were the ones making updates to the Havoc-Mech controls.

Mauve leaned against a console, and waited.

A young female scientist walked by, and Mauve smirked and approached her.

Before he could start flirting with her, however, a door opened to reveal Shade. Once the dark echidna entered, the door shut behind him.

Mauve approached him, and sighed.

"I take it you're giving me my mission?" Mauve asked.

Shade nodded. "And I need your word, bat, that you'll handle this to the best of your ability" he said with a half-growl.

Mauve nodded. "Yeah, I'll do it to the best" he said. "I have to, for 1 million."

Shade snorted. "Your greed sickens me" he grumbled. "But if that's what it take for your loyalty, so be it. Anyway, your task..."

Shade paced the room. "The assignment is as important as Mephiles suspected. There is an item he seeks, one of great power beyond even what the Master Emerald is capable of. It is an artifact created in the days of the Gizoid's creation, perhaps earlier. And it has the ability to... manipulate energy and time much as Chaos Emeralds do, allowing transport to other dimensions."

Mauve nodded. "What is this... object?" he asked.

Shade shook his head. "Our master is being careful about this; he did not even trust me with that knowledge" he said. "But, as for your assignment, G.U.N. has just recently obtained valuable information of this artifact. You are to infiltrate G.U.N. Headquarters, and do the following..."

* * *

With Shadow and Rouge

* * *

Shadow and Rouge were now at their room in their honeymoon suite. Shadow carried Rouge into the room, and sat her down on the bed.

Rouge smiled, and removed her headdress. Shadow sat next to her, and they kissed passionately. The two embraced each other, and their eyes shut tight in passion.

Rouge broke the kiss after a good 10 minutes, and licked Shadow's cheek.

Shadow chuckled and nibbled her ear.

Rouge giggled softly, and they lay down next to each other, kissing gently and caressing the other's head.

Shadow kissed her neck, and they looked deeply into each other's eyes.

One had powerful, resolute crimson, showing off sheer strength and will power, but past that, was gentle caring and tenderness when he gazed upon those glittering, beautiful aqua eyes, holding a vastness of beauty and seduction that too glittered deeply with love.

Sapphire and ruby met, and the gaze itself held enough love to shatter any obstacle.

"I love you..." Shadow whispered, and nuzzled Rouge's nose.

Rouge giggled warmly and nuzzled Shadow back. "Love you too, Shad-Shad" she replied.

Shadow sat up and was about to go and get some champagne, when there was a hard knock at the door.

Shadow growled lowly. "Who is it?!" he demanded.

"Kaynyx" the guest replied.

Shadow sighed, smiled deviously at Rouge as if to say "One moment", which was returned with a sly wink.

Shadow opened the door, and Kaynyx stood there.

Shadow suddenly realized the Kaynyx hadn't made the reception.

"My friend, I'm sorry to disturb you" Kaynyx said, "But I have a gift for you... one which I think you'll find valuable."

Shadow nodded, and Kaynyx pulled out a finely-made, but slightly-worn knife sheath.

The sheath was long, and the handle was purely silver, decorated with dozens of small rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

Kaynyx slowly drew the blade out to reveal a gold blade with handsomely-written engravings Shadow couldn't read.

"Kaynyx... what is this?" Shadow said in slight awe of the beautiful weapon. "Where did you get it?"

Kaynyx smiled sadly. "This belonged to Gerald, once upon a time" he replied. "I kept it with me before... that is, during my final four or five days on board the ARK."

Shadow took the weapon tenderly, and sheathed it again. He nodded in thanks.

"Gerald told me he found this while researching a... very old site for ancient technology, ruins of a lost civilization" Kaynyx explained.

"When he was researching the Gizoid..." Shadow muttered to himself, and nodded again.

"Thank you Kaynyx the Wolf" he said.

Kaynyx nodded, and bowed his head respectfully.

"I'll leave you and Mrs. Rouge to your evening now" Kaynyx said, and started to leave.

"Kaynyx, why didn't you give me this at the reception?" Shadow asked.

"Ah" Kaynyx replied, and smiled slightly. "G.U.N. needed to see me... they've given me a job as a G.U.N. Special Operations sergeant."

Shadow smiled slightly. "Congratulations" he said.

Kaynyx nodded again. "Farewell" he said, and departed.

Shadow chuckled to himself, went back inside and closed the door.

"What did he want?" Rouge asked.

Shadow showed her the mighty, lavish dagger Kaynyx had given him. Rouge's eyes sparkled like they always did when admiring treasure.

"Amazing..." she mumbled. "And each jewel 24 karat, no less..."

Shadow nodded, sheathed the knife again and stored it away safely. "A valuable gift indeed" he said in agreement. "But now..."

Shadow popped open the champagne, and poured him and Rouge a glass.

They clinked their glasses in a toast, and drank.

As the evening wore on, the two lovers soon finished off the bottle, now intoxicated and their passion, love and lust were at its highest levels.

They looked upon each other with emotions that skyrocketed, and they kissed so hard, they re-defined the word.

They no longer cared for their clothes; Rouge ripped open Shadow's jacket, and Shadow tore away Rouge's dress to reveal her corset and undergarments.

Their clothes were then in shreds as they still kissed and caressed one another...

And so the night continued...

* * *

G.U.N. Headquarters

* * *

Here, at the core of the Guardian Units of Nations' military and secret-forces operations, thousands of human troop and officers kept the building secure.

Tens of thousands more of robots also secured the building, kept under control in a heavily-guarded room.

Many laser-turrets secured entry-ways and the exterior as well. G.U.N. airships of powerful caliber patrolled the skies surrounding the powerful building.

And the G.U.N. commander, truly fearless in the face of any threat, whether it be Eggman's mech armada, the Black Arms Empire and their merciless Black Fist, the endless sea of Metarex troops, the thousands of well-armed gangsters employed by Shade the Echidna, or even the demon-soldiers of Mephiles the Dark, he stood strong, kept his troops and allies together, and withstood and overthrew all these threats in the past.

Dr. Eggman had not been seen for some time, although a quick strike from a small G.U.N. air fleet destroyed an Eggman-ran base recently, the doctor's whereabouts were unknown, which could only mean he was still rebuilding his empire.

But when he did, G.U.N. would be ready.

As long as the Headquarters stood firm, none could defeat this military/secret intelligence organization.

No one.

So someone decided to fix that little problem.

* * *

Mauve the Bat stealthily crawled through the shadowy ceilings of the headquarters, oh-so tempted to slit the throats of the sick little humans that walked beneath him.

But Mauve knew that would be quite risky, and his payment for the job couldn't be risked.

Mauve wondered to himself what he'd do when he retired...

Maybe catch that pretty Rouge and make her his maid? Yes, that'd be quite nice...

And when his employer made Mauve an authority in his new empire, the bat could have many more beautiful maids...

The thought made Mauve quiver, almost, but he stayed focus and proceeded to his goal.

Getting in for his employer's oh-so important intel had been one of the toughest jobs in Mauve's career; he had to blind the sensors long enough to get past, but short enough for no one to notice or suspect a security breach, giving him 4 seconds at the most.

Mauve had barely beaten 3.9 seconds.

Then, disposing of only one guard so he could hide the body and then hide himself in the ceiling's shadows before another guard appeared, and then he had to wait hours, sometimes, before someone opened a door for him so Mauve could get to another room.

Mauve was starting to hope his riches would pay off as much as he fantasized they would.

The information his employer needed was vital; it could mean victory even if all their troops were lost, even if Shadow and his rat-allies destroyed the Aero Fortress and their final fall-back base.

To get to it, though, Mauve would need quite a distraction...

Which was why he was headed to the G.U.N. mech control center.


	6. Evil Strikes

**Chapter Three: Holy Matrimony**

Shadow rubbed a little men's cologne on his face, giving him a faint, good-smelling scent, but wasn't anything feminine like a floral scent or anything.

Kaynyx came in again.

Shadow looked up, half-dreading what the wolf was about to say.

Kaynyx drew a deep breath, and managed a smile.

"They're ready, Shadow" he said.

Shadow's eyes widened, he drew in a shaky breath, and nodded.

Shadow proceeded to the door, but his legs weakened and gave way.

Kaynyx hurried over and steadied Shadow on his legs.

"Are you alright, Shadow?" Kaynyx asked.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine" Shadow said, cleared his throat, and left the room, occasionally wobbling a little but otherwise fine.

With Rouge

Rouge adjusted her head veil slightly, and looked in the mirror once again.

She heard knocking, and her breathing came harder.

"C-Come in" Rouge called.

Moonlight opened the door, and took a deep breath.

"Rouge, they say it's... y' know, time" Moonlight told her.

Rouge nodded, and approached the door.

"Oh, Moonlight... Thank you so much for everything!!" Rouge squealed.

"Ah, Rouge, what are sisters for?" Moonlight replied. "I can't believe you're finally getting married to Shadow! He's perfect for you, hon!"

They hugged each other tightly in that close friend/sisterly way.

Moonlight smiled, and found a tear at her eye.

"Moony, come on, if you cry, then I'm gonna cry and I promised I wouldn't cry today unless I got drunk at the reception" Rouge told her.

Moonlight dabbed away the tear. "Well... y-you best get going, hon" she said. "I wish mom and dad were here... they'd love to see this..."

Rouge smiled gently. "Shadow told me they are watching... along with his old friend, Maria" she said softly.

Moonlight smiled, and nodded. "Well, c'mon" she said. "Don't forget your flowers."

Rouge grabbed the bouquet, and they left the room.

* * *

In the Sanctuary, where the wedding would take place

* * *

Shadow stood with Kaynyx and the priest at the altar, now only awaiting Rouge's arrival.

Sonic and Amy were in the second row on the right, snuggled up close. To Sonic's left sat Tails, and to Amy's right sat Knuckles.

The red echidna felt quite alone, at Shadow and Rouge's wedding while Sonic and Amy expressed their love next to him. Knuckles was yet to find a loving companion.

He'd considered trying to get together with the female echidna Tikal, but she hadn't been seen since about a week or so after Sonic defeated the beast Chaos all those years ago.

Knuckles sighed, and folded his arms.

Cream was the flower girl, and would soon be coming in to throw flowers about, and Silver would be the ring-bearer.

Blaze sat towards the back, only chatting every now and then with strangers.

The Chaotix Agency was talking to quiet a few people (Vector in particular), and made a good deal of noise on their own.

Occasionally the crocodile would sneeze, which startled lots of people, particularly Shadow (any noise that broke the hub of chatter in there made his heart jump, thinking it might be the piano playing the bride's march).

Kaynyx often muttered encouraging words to Shadow, but they did little more than distract him from the fear he felt.

Finally, the crowd hushed, and the bridal march began to play.

Shadow and everyone else turned to see Cream enter, and gently throw flowers about. Everyone smiled gently and some even clapped as the cute little rabbit literally hopped down the aisle.

Shadow even smirked slightly and shook his head, and Kaynyx chuckled nearby.

Moonlight then entered and hurried up to the altar.

"She'll be here in a sec" she whispered with a wink.

Her sisters, Daisy and Buttercup, waved from the crowd. Jewel acknowledged her with a smile and nod only.

Then, Rouge entered, and everyone rose respectfully.

Shadow's mouth went slack as his lover walked towards him.

Rouge's sleek, silver gown looked so beautiful and sexy, and her beautiful, aqua eyes looked at him from under that white veil with such powerful love Shadow's heart went warm.

And Rouge herself felt a little woozy and light-headed when Shadow's crimson eyes looked back with love stronger than the mightiest blade ever forged.

Everyone smiled at her beautiful appearance, and Sonic and Amy tightly grasped each other's hands.

Rouge finally got on the altar, and Shadow took her hand and helped her up the last few steps.

The priest smiled as the two firmly held hands.

"Dearly beloved..." he began...

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Mauve watched as the ceremony began from a window high above the chapel.

Suddenly, his communicator went off.

"Mauve, are you there?" it asked sharply.

"I'm here... master" Mauve replied wearily.

"We have a new assignment for you, or at least, we might. Regardless, you must return to the Aero Fortress at once. Your current assignment must be postponed."

Mauve sighed. "How much is the job paying, my lord?" he asked, trying to sound respectful.

"If it is what we think, you shall receive 1,000,000 in cash" the dark voice spoke. "Your current mission will resume once this one is accomplished, or our sources prove false."

Mauve snickered. "As you command, master" he said, and the link broke.

Unbelievable; his payments had never gone above 800,000 at one time in his whole mercenary career, even for assassinations of world-leaders!!

Whatever this assignment was, it was obvious Mauve's new employer wanted the bat at his best for the top-priority mission...

With that 1 million and the 610,000 he was being offered for this surveillance/possible kidnapping mission added on to what Shade had earlier on paid, would make Mauve rich enough to afford a long, leisurely, living-like-a-king retirement.

Of course, Mauve would still have the occasional assassination for fun, but relaxation suited him fine, too.

The wicked bat spread his wings, and stealthily flew away.

* * *

Back at the altar

* * *

Cream now sat by her mother as the ceremony continued. Her mom, Vanilla, wiped away a tear as the priest was just about to wed the dark lovers.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, do you take Rouge the Bat to be your lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and health? Will you comfort her, and love her truly?" the priest asked Shadow.

Shadow nodded with a gentle, sincere smile. "I do" he replied with the utmost honesty and sincerity.

The priest turned to Rouge. "Rouge the Bat, do you take Shadow the Hedgehog to be your lawfully wedded husband, through sickness and health? Will you comfort him and love him truly?"

Rouge smiled, and fought a tear back a tear. "I do" she replied just as sincerely and warm as Shadow had.

The priest smiled.

"I now pronounce this couple, husband and wife!" he announced. "You may kiss the bride."

Shadow lifted Rouge's veil, and they embraced each other in a powerful, loving, passionate kiss, and the crowd applauded.

The two stayed that way for quite awhile, neither wanting to relinquish the moment.

When the kiss ended, Shadow and Rouge gazed deeply at one another, and smiled.

Never in their lives had they felt so happy, secure, and whole.

Soon, the room was cleared out, and the reception was about to begin.

Shadow lifted Rouge bridal style, and she nuzzled his face while he carried her out, adorning Rouge's forehead with kisses.

At last, they'd found what was missing from their lives for so long.


	7. The Return of Mephiles

**Chapter Seven: The Return of Mephiles**

Shadow and Rouge ran down the long hallway, and the sounds of battle grew louder as they continued on their way.

Finally, they saw where G.U.N. troops had established their position...

It wasn't pretty...

Dozens of troops were bleeding and being tended to, and only a thousand or so altogether stood against thousands more of renegade mechs...

And only about a dozen other mechs still stood with the troops, firing rapidly.

Shadow frowned, and saw that the troops had established good cover over some energy shields and piled-up sandbags, soaking in some of the enemy fire. The troops also had at least two dozen turrets up and shooting at the enemy.

Shadow sighed, and leapt at the enemies.

"Chaos SPEAR!!" he shouted, and blew away seven more mechs.

Rouge also jumped in, heaved a bomb, and blew away five more.

The troops cheered them on, and continued firing.

Together, the duo was unstoppable; their martial arts, their strength and agility, their quick-thinking, and the bond of teamwork they shared was unmatched.

Dozens and dozens of renegade mechs fell, and soon, another huge help arrived.

Literally.

Kaynyx the Wolf gave a roar, and with one, wide swing, took down twelve G.U.N. robots. Then the mighty wolf ripped a robot's gun off with his razor-teeth, and used it to shoot down eight more.

Kaynyx's anger simmered down, but even without his enhancement, he still fought valiantly and skillfully, smashing his foes down.

Shadow smirked slightly at Kaynyx's appearance, but said nothing and continued fighting.

Rouge kicked another mech to pieces, and faced Kaynyx.

"About time, dog-boy!" she teased, and heaved another bomb at her foes.

Kaynyx said nothing, only picked up a larger robot, and used it to smash aside several more.

Shadow rolled past three mechs, ricochet off a wall, and smash right through about fifty of them. Then he stood up again, waited until he was surrounded by about thirty more, and unleashed his Chaos Blast, destroying them all.

Rouge, meanwhile, was moving fast and taking out her foes with quick and precise hits. She didn't destroy them completely like Kaynyx did or like Shadow did occasionally, Rouge only occupied herself with a mech long enough to neutralize the threat, not the robot itself, such as knocking off all weapons and legs, going for the command-receiver or the power core.

They carried on for a very long time, destroying wave after wave of mechs.

Shadow, Rouge and Kaynyx were beginning to tire, even with the support-fire from the G.U.N. troops.

Shadow knew there were over a thousand other troops who could help them secure the control and command center, but they were busy trying to keep the mechs in the factory contained with Omega's help.

The other G.U.N. agents were acting as emissaries and hit-and-run teams against the more heavily mech-populated areas, each with one of the few remaining friendly robots to aid them.

Soon, however, their odds improved.

A blue shape came soaring through the air, and smashed a dozen mechs down.

A red shape appeared shortly after, who charged into the horde and smashed at least ten down.

Sonic and Knuckles had arrived.

Shadow didn't smile at this lucky break, only nodded. He faced Rouge.

"C'mon, we need to get to the mech-control center!" Shadow told her.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Rouge replied, and heaved her last bomb at a tank-like mech, blowing it up and showering red-hot shards of metal and sparks all over.

They nodded at each other and left, the sounds of Sonic's and Knuckles' efforts echoing behind them.

* * *

G.U.N. Headquarters, Sector Beta, Near Mech Control Center

* * *

Shadow and Rouge had navigated their way through the winding corridors of G.U.N. Headquarters, encountering heavy resistance. They would occasionally run into one of the G.U.N. Agent teams, trapped in one of the larger rooms such as the cafeteria or combat-training areas, by over fifty or so mechs. Shadow and Rouge would quickly destroy them, tell the agents to get moving or to go to an area that needed assistance, and move on.

"How many do you have?" Rouge asked Shadow as they entered the door that would lead to the mech control-room's antechamber. From there, they would climb into a small room upstairs that held the main G.U.N. robot control console.

Shadow shrugged. "I lost count after 397" he said with no arrogance or boasting. "You?"

Rouge smirked. "Eh... 289, I think..." she said, slightly embarrassed.

Shadow smirked teasingly. "Come now, that's not bad, especially compared to the Ultimate Life's Form's score" he teased.

Rouge's smirk widened. "What would get us even?" she replied.

"Do something REALLY dramatic" Shadow said. "That's a good way to compensate-"

"Like this?" Rouge said, and kissed Shadow so hard he yelped when he hit the wall.

Rouge smiled at him when she broke it. "I win" she teased.

* * *

G.U.N. Command Center

* * *

The G.U.N. commander was a little assured at the arrival of Sonic and Knuckles, and that Shadow and Rouge were aiding all separated agent units, but the battle wasn't won yet, and even when it was, the commander would have everything double-checked before giving an all-clear.

"Sir!" a captain said, saluting. "We've received word that Sergeant Kaynyx and his platoon have driven out the renegade mechs from Sector Alpha."

The commander faced him. "On their own...?" he mumbled.

"Yes, sir..." the captain hesitated, then said; "They had cover fire from the Command Center's defenses for awhile, but for the most part, yes."

The commander's stone-face almost smiled; that was impressive, even considering Shadow and Rouge were employed in G.U.N.

"Very good" the commander said. "Send Platoon 'C' to assist them. Is sergeant Kaynyx and his men engaging the enemy?"

"Yes, sir" the captain said. "They're assisting Charlie Company in Sector Sigma. They can't eliminate the entire threat, but they can bring Charlie Company's survivors into G.U.N. controlled and secured areas."

The commander nodded. "Very good, captain" he said. "What of E-123 Omega and the troops he's assisting?"

"Sir, they're holding the factory fine. As long as they can keep the main entrance under control, they shouldn't be overwhelmed" the captain replied.

The commander nodded, and was silent.

"Captain, tell me; how many of our troops, agents counted, still live?" he asked.

The captain consulted some other officers, hesitated, and said; "4,941, sir..."

The commander sighed; he'd expected heavy losses, but that...

That was _crippling..._

They had had over 17,000 soldiers and 1,000 agents here when the attack started...

"How many are soldiers, and which are agents?" the commander said.

Given his choice, he'd prefer agent survivors; each one was worth at least ten soldiers in skill...

"A little over 600 of our current survivors are agents..." the captain said, "Leaving 4,300 or less of the others soldiers."

The commander sighed. "Yes, captain..." he finally said. "You're dismissed; keep me posted."

"Yes sir" the captain said, and returned to work.

The commander prayed his most trusted agents would hurry before G.U.N.'s strongest foothold and operations center fell...

If it did, their only hope to stay strong would be to unite all their surviving bases at Central City until they could recover.

* * *

With Shadow and Rouge

* * *

The duo finally arrived in Sector Beta, and thank God, there were no mechs around...

Except for about four in the mech center, obviously programmed to repel all intruders. They swiveled around in high alert, close to the main console in the small room above them.

The bodies of the men and women running the night shift lay sprawled in their own dry blood up there.

Shadow chuckled. "This shouldn't be hard" he said.

"Shadow, wait..." Rouge said. "That means..."

"Yeah, I know... it just means the real challenge is yet to be presented to us" Shadow replied. "I was just saying they couldn't even put a dozen of them in there, where they need to guard the most heavily..."

Suddenly, a large, tank-like robot appeared. It crushed over some seats and small computers, and over a dozen small laser and machine guns appeared out of it.

The main cannon had a red, robotic eye that was obviously observing the hedgehog and bat for potential weaknesses.

Some red-painted words that spelled "Juggernaut-137" were printed on the side.

These units were usually used in large-scale enemy engagements and wide-perimeter defenses only, although sometimes guarded large helipads.

Guarding a room on the inside of a base was a new one, though.

"TARGET AQUIRED" it said in a metallic tone, faintly similar to Omega's. "AGENT ROUGE THE BAT, SENIOR D-CLASS AGENT FOR G.U.N. SPECIAL FORCES. AGENT SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG, SENIOR B-CLASS AGENT FOR G.U.N. SPECIAL FORCES. MOVING TO ENGAGE AND NEUTRALIZE..."

Shadow looked at Rouge. "I'll take it on; you get up there and get control back!" he said, and attacked the tank sized robot.

Rouge nodded, and quickly flew up to the door that sealed the main control-console from her.

Rouge placed a detonator - the last one on hand - and set the timer for 5 seconds, and backed up a little.

The explosion was only about twice as large as a cherry-bomb, but weakened it enough for Rouge to land three solid kicks, and send the door soaring and then smashing into one of the four mechs guarding the room.

They fired, but Rouge defeated them all with a spin kick, got to the console, and set to work.

Shadow, meanwhile, had to use his speed almost to its limit to dodge the Juggernaut mech's attacks.

Whenever there was a temporary cease-fire, Shadow would fire his own Chaos Spear, taking off a few guns with each blast. For a while, the Juggernaut replaced the guns, but soon ran out, and started relying on them less.

Shadow couldn't harm it with anything less than Chaos Blast or a well-timed Chaos Spear, but he was making progress, all the same.

Rouge, however, was getting a headache.

The codes that the hacker had installed to prevent a mech-protocol override were very complicated and had to be done quickly and precisely. Rouge had gotten past the first three codes, but the last four were very complicated and some parts were hard to decipher...

And Rouge almost didn't believe it; the genius Dr. Eggman, the veteran hackers of G.U.N...

None had challenged Rouge's skills before; she'd gotten past them like a three-year old through the candy store's front door, usually on her first try...

But these codes...

They were like nothing she'd scene... it was like a G.U.N. scientist personnel had taken some alien codes and adapted them oh-so slightly, for she only recognized a few key fragments...

After some double-checking, Rouge was able to get past the fourth code, but the next one was equally odd, and very unfamiliar...

Shadow, meanwhile, was dodging blasts from the Juggernaut's main cannon, which blew mini-van-sized holes in the wall, leaving blackness and flames in its wake.

Shadow finally rolled up into a ball, and deflected the blast back at the tank, damaging it badly with an enormous bang, and smashing it into another wall.

But the mech fired still.

Shadow, however, dodged them all, charged up his energy, and leapt up one final time.

"CHAOS SPEAR!!" he shouted, and the energy hit the power core, causing an explosion that ripped the robot apart, sending smoking shrapnel and rubble all about.

Shadow sighed in brief satisfaction, and quickly climbed up to where Rouge was.

"Any luck?" he asked.

Rouge rubbed her forehead. "Just one password..." she said in frustration. "I just need one password to save us, one password to end this nightmare... and I'm clueless!"

Shadow frowned; Rouge had never been stumped by any kind of codes before...

"Mind if I look?" he asked.

"Be my guest!" Rouge said with some irritability. Shadow shrugged, and looked at it.

"The codes look really alien, some parts and frequencies look somewhat outdated. That alone wouldn't be a problem if each one wasn't just so slightly different that I couldn't notice without at least triple-checking the damn thing!" Rouge told him.

Shadow nodded, and looked it over...

The ruins, letterings and barcodes on this final code looked like something out of "The Matrix", and yet...

The "alien text" Rouge spoke of seemed familiar...

Then, Shadow knew...

He typed six letters in, and hit enter.

Large, bold-green letters appeared, which said; "FULL ACCESS GRANTED."

Shadow smiled to himself.

Rouge rolled her eyes and gave the hedgehog a playful shove.

"Yeah, yeah, you're the shit, Shadow" she teased. Shadow chuckled.

"Well, Rouge, the ruins looked like something I'd seen engraved on the Gizoid awhile back, so... that's what I typed" Shadow said modestly.

Rouge smiled at Shadow and kissed his neck briefly.

"When we're done here, I'm going to give a good-hacker what he deserves" Rouge said with a devilish smile.

Shadow smiled back, and pinched her tail playfully. "Just shut the mechs down so we can go" he reminded her.

Rouge giggled. "Yeah, yeah, keep your spikes on..." she said.

With an expertise clicking of commands, the screen flashed again.

"ALL MECHS CANCEL ATTACK-ON-FRIENDLY PROTOCOLS. RESUME ATTACK-ON-HOSTILES-ONLY PROTOCOLS. FRIENDLY AND STANDARD PROTOCOLS INITIATED. SHUTTING DOWN FOR RECHARGE..." the screen said.

All troops throughout the building whooped as the fighting stopped as the mechs repeated the protocol and shut down on the spot, only minimal power for recharging remaining on them.

Shadow and Rouge could hear them. They embraced each other, even though they'd shared victories like these many times before.

They left the mech control console, and stood amongst the damage the Juggernaut had caused.

Then, the G.U.N. commander entered, surrounded by five agents wielding melee staves and two elite soldiers with rifles, along with his personal bodyguard mechs, controlled only by the commander's brainwaves.

Sonic and Knuckles were there too. Sonic had a bruise on his cheek, and Knuckles had a slightly-red bandage on his arm, but they were both still very able.

They both looked satisfied from the mechs they had destroyed.

The commander was smiling his first time since either Shadow or Rouge had known him.

"You two... have done extremely well today..." the commander said slowly. "You will be rewarded well, and compensated for... that is, your honeymoon..."

Rouge nodded, and while Shadow was about to assure the commander, the man held up a hand for silence.

"No. I insist. A reward for you both, and promotions. Of course, I think Kaynyx will be more than happy to know he's a captain now... Anyway, you two have saved G.U.N. Once reinforcements arrive to further secure the building, we'll be back and running."

Shadow nodded. "Yes sir" he said. "Once we return from our getaway, we'll check on things here."

The commander nodded, then put his hand to his chin, deep in thought.

"Still... I have no idea why the mechs were programmed to attack us..." he thought aloud.

"Oh, but I do!" said a new, cold, hate-filled voice.

Everyone turned to see something even more dreadful than the attack...

Shade and Mauve stood there, two Black Arms elites in front of them, and four more behind them. Six Metarex stood on either side. Shade's metal claws were extended, and Mauve had his katana drawn.

But their leader was the one who filled them with dread...

With blazing green eyes only a demon could possess, with a hellish texture and a dark, silky, and dreadful aura only those with evil minds could feel comfortable with...

Mephiles the Dark stood there in his dark glory.

The commander's eyes widened, and he drew his pistol out of its holster. Rouge gasped and put a hand to her mouth. All the troops and agents there gasped and mumbled in disbelief. Sonic and Knuckles stared in disbelief.

Shadow however, shook his head, eyes wider than the commander's.

"No..." he murmured, then his voice grew louder with despair. "No! I finished you... on top of the mountain, my blade went into you... I SAW you die!! I finished you myself!! You CAN'T be alive!!"

Mephiles chuckled, and his dark ooze formed a blade on his right hand.

"Shadow, you fool!" he cackled. "You merely destroyed the form my essence took! A favor I shall gladly extend to you all, ten-fold!"

Then Mephiles' eyes narrowed, and he rose his blade like a banner; "For NONE of you shall leave here alive! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Mephiles laughed in triumph.


	8. Evil's Wrath, Darkness's mercy

**Chapter Eight: Evil's Wrath, Darkness's Mercy**

Mephiles signaled with his other hand, and two robots entered the room.

At first, everyone thought they were Emerl and some twin, but these robots were slightly taller, a black and silver color (which meant they weren't Eggman's dull-gray "Phi" models), and had slightly better-built torsos.

"These are 'Havoc' models" Mephiles introduced. "Taken from the remaining pieces of the Gizoid, we were able to produce several lesser, yet still quite capable models. They feed off copy-Chaos Emerald energy induced into their cores."

Rouge 'hmphed', and spat on the ground. "Counterfeit jewels, you're an even bigger shit-spawn then I gave you credit for!" she snapped.

Mephiles chuckled. "Regardless, the force I brought here should be sufficient to get what I want" he replied.

"Which is...?" Shadow said, now over his shock at Mephiles' return and glaring at his greatest nemesis (other than Black Doom, maybe) with great hatred.

Mephiles chuckled. "Something that will assure victory even in the most unhappy of circumstances" he said. With a flick of his hand, Shade, Mauve, the Black Arms Elite troops, the Metarex, and Havoc bots attacked.

Shadow met Shade head-on, as Rouge did with Mauve, and Sonic and Knuckles did the Havoc mechs, which moved with great speed and fired deadly weaponry with flawless targeting protocols.

The Havocs may have been controlled remotely, but their independent combat systems allowed them to predict where their opponent would move next, and pre-target them, making it difficult even for Sonic to dodge.

Shadow, meanwhile, was having yet another frustratingly even match with Shade.

Both were determined to kill the other, their shared hatred for each other almost vibrated within them, wishing to destroy the source.

And Rouge and Mauve fought, too; two bats trained in almost every imaginable form of martial arts. One was an agent and ex-criminal, the other a long-time mercenary and criminal, both matched quite well with Rouge's bombs and Mauve's hidden arsenal.

The commander fired his pistol, the troops around him forming a solid line of protection against the Black Arms and Metarex.

Soon, Kaynyx entered with about eleven more soldiers, two of which wore bandages on bad, but non-critical wounds.

"Protect the commander!" Kaynyx shouted.

His troops fired on the aliens, who drew shields and ducked behind them. The commander slowly eased his way out of the room, his personal guards still close to him.

Mephiles, however, merely snarled and hovered about ten feet in the air. He unleashed an energy that blew all but three of Kaynyx's men into the wall with spine-shattering force, and they crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Then, about two hundred G.U.N. Beetle mechs with mounted guns entered, and provided covering fire for the commander until he had finally left.

Mephiles growled at this, clenching his fists.

Kaynyx growled as he saw his own men go down, and rushed the aliens attacking him. Kaynyx crashed through them, and slammed two together, smashing their skulls apart.

The other two fired, but their blasts did little more than singe Kaynyx's fur. The wolf bellowed, swung his fists, and actually smashed their torsos open.

Mauve had knocked Rouge aside long enough to throw a bomb at the beetle-mechs nearest to Mephiles. But the rest fired, and forced Mauve away. The bat was worried Mephiles would be harmed and his payment would be reduced, but then...

Mephiles snarled, and countless black, oozing ropes shot out of his fingers like angry, possessed vines, and at least three seized each G.U.N. beetle firing at him. Mephiles then slammed them all together with unimaginable force, sending shrapnel and smoking metal all around them.

Mephiles turned to Mauve, who was fighting Rouge again. Mephiles sent a surge of energy that blew Rouge about fifteen feet aside.

"Mauve! Ignore the bat! Get the data!" Mephiles growled.

Mauve scoffed, his eyes still on Rouge, the two bats glaring at each other.

"My vengeance comes first, boss!" Mauve stated, but that was a mistake.

Mephiles' green eyes shimmered, and Mauve suddenly felt like all his bones were splintering.

"I said RETRIEVE THE DATA!!" Mephiles snarled.

The pain eased, and Mauve managed to nod apologetically, and the pain vanished.

"Yes... master" Mauve said rather miserably. "The data will soon be yours."

Shadow, meanwhile, had finally managed to slam Shade's head into the wall hard enough to daze the echidna and then toss him like a sack of potatoes across the room, near where Sonic and Knuckles were still fighting the Havoc robots. Shadow had barely caught what Mephiles had just said.

"Rouge! We have to stop Mauve!" Shadow shouted. "He's probably headed for the main control room!"

Rouge wiped some blood from a small cut on her cheek, and nodded firmly; the main control room was where the commander and the highest-ranking officers in the force resided, making it doubly important to stop Mauve, who was now hacking the door that the commander had passed through.

Kaynyx was about to engage Mephiles, when further enemy reinforcements arrived; ten Black Arms Elites with swords and fifteen Metarex with chain-gun laser turrets mounted where their right hands would've been. They fired upon Kaynyx and what remained of his soldiers, who took cover and covered their captain while Kaynyx engaged the Black Arms.

Shade finally stood again, and blasted Kaynyx down with a Chaos Spear, then went to stand by his master.

"Come!" Mephiles said to the echidna. "We'll have to ensure Mauve can access the mainframe without hindrance; he's the only one who can get the data I need!" The hurried to the door, But Shadow, Rouge, and Kaynyx were right behind them.

"You'll have to kill us, first" Shadow said in a loathing voice.

Mephiles sneered. "I don't have time for the likes of you!" he growled, and with a surge of energy, blew the three of them against the far wall, sealing them in a kind of black ooze.

"What the-?!" Rouge yelped, tugging to get free, but the dark, purple ooze held like cement... by Mobian standards, no less.

Mauve finally hacked the door open, and he, Shade, the Black Arms Elites and Metarex, and Mephiles hurried through.

Shadow snarled, and tried to summon his Chaos powers to melt through it, but it held fast, as if it froze the heat of his energy just short of surfacing.

"Damn him..." Rouge muttered, pulling without any result other than increased frustration. "That little shit always has to play unfair..."

Kaynyx, strangely, didn't struggle at all, for he was deep in thought...

Finally, he faced Shadow.

"Was... that Mephiles?" he asked quietly.

Shadow stopped and faced the elderly wolf, suddenly remembering that Kaynyx had witnessed Maria's murder by Mephiles' hands.

Shadow hesitated, and nodded solemnly, not daring to look Kaynyx in his sad blue eyes...

That didn't stay sad for much longer.

Kaynyx gave a long, pained howl that made everyone flinch, and Rouge in particular ears' were hurting terribly, and she couldn't block it out.

Kaynyx's eyes glowed a dazzling sapphire, and actually shone, much like a virtuous alternative to Shade's glowing red eyes.

Kaynyx roared in mad fury, no control whatsoever this time. His muscles were harder than before, bulging more, and he tore at the substance that held him with impossible fury.

The substance that held him finally tore away with an odd, sucking sound...

In fact, it seemed to be screeching faintly as it was torn away...

Kaynyx lost some fur escaping the dark substance, but finally did, and ran at the door with fury, panting madly and charged the door down and after Mephiles and his guard.

The substance that Kaynyx had torn away split along and miraculously released Shadow and Rouge, who stared after Kaynyx.

Rouge shrugged after awhile. "And I thought you were edgy..." she teased Shadow.

Shadow rolled his eyes, and saw that Sonic and Knuckles had taken down one Havoc robot at last, and teamed against the last one.

"Idiots..." Shadow muttered, and fired a Chaos Spear at the Havoc...

Which turned out to be a mistake.

The robot faced the oncoming bolt of energy, held out a hand, and absorbed it at the last second, and suddenly knocked Sonic and Knuckles aside with a Chaos Blast.

The Havoc robot then ran past them before Sonic and Knuckles even landed, and smashed into Shadow, knocking him into the air.

Rouge, however, kicked the robot right in the head, cracking its visor, but just barely.

The Havoc mech retaliated by seizing Rouge's neck and punching her stomach, cracking two ribs, and threw her across the room...

Which turned out to be a bigger mistake.

Shadow cried out, and with energy surging all through and around him, tore through the Havoc as a black and red blur.

Rouge struggled to stand, seeing nothing but smoldering scrap where the Havoc had stood seconds before.

Shadow finally calmed enough so that the red energy around him dimmed, and approached Rouge, helping her up.

"Are you okay?" Shadow asked, looking right into her eyes.

Rouge nodded, grimaced slightly, but managed a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she said. "I can fight."

Shadow smiled back, but shook his head. "No, I'm not risking you if you're got broken bones" he replied.

Rouge frowned again. "Shadow, I can-" she started, but Shadow pinched a certain vein on her neck, and Rouge fell unconscious.

"Shouldn't have taught me that" Shadow muttered, and gently set Rouge aside, ordering the few soldiers left in there to guard her.

"Sorry, my love" Shadow whispered to Rouge, "But we have little time left."

Shadow stood up, and soon joined by Omega and another platoon of G.U.N. troops, went after Mephiles and his servants.


	9. A Dark Day

Chapter Eight: Evil's Wrath, Darkness's Mercy

**Chapter Nine: A Dark Day**

The G.U.N. Control room was in chaos, no pun intended considering the fact that one of the attackers wielded it for attack, and the Havoc robots used artificial Chaos.

Generals, the highest chief communication and weapon-control officers, intelligence officers of decades of experience, most had departed to a more secure, still-hidden-from-the-enemy base, located under Central City where the President resided.

The G.U.N. Supreme Commander himself was the only officer of high-respect remaining, who would rather die than see G.U.N.'s greatest stronghold fall without a fight.

The room was filled with dozens hovering G.U.N. Beetle drones, the computer terminals locked down except for the security controls, which would also lock within 1.2 seconds if those who controlled them died.

The commander was surrounded by a dozen of their best agents, armed with katanas and melee staves. A platoon of soldiers of elite status surrounded them as well, and of course the commander had his two personal G.U.N. Beetle Drones to protect him, armed with armor-piercing laser cannons and rapid-fire machine turrets on the side, and electric shields crackling to life.

Dozens more soldiers and agents filled the room, ready to defend it from anything. Over a thousand troops and fifty agents guarded the entrance outside, while the rest of the soldiers and agents went with the other high-commanding officers to the base at Central City.

A sergeant had his rifle poised, watching his men carefully.

"Be ready for anything!" he muttered.

Those would be his last words...

They heard the sounds of scuffling outside for a brief second only, and then the door exploded violently, killing the sergeant and his men, knocking back a few other platoons as well.

When the smoke cleared, everyone's hopes vanished, and even the commander felt a brief flicker of fear...

Mephiles the Dark strode calmly through, surrounded by the bodies slain by him and his servants, the blood of hundreds dripping from the blades on his arms.

"OPEN FIRE!!" the commander bellowed.

Every soldier and robot in the room fired upon Mephiles, and Mephiles alone...

In vain.

The bullets struck home, but Mephiles noted this as little more than an irritation.

The agents broke rank at the commander's urgent order, and engaged Mephiles, but Mephiles cut them down without a second thought, as casually as one waves at a friend.

Then Shade and Mauve entered, surrounded by Metarex and Black Arms Elites.

The commander drew a pistol and fired right between Mephiles' eyes, but to no affect.

Mephiles' guards cut down the nearest platoons, and the commander drew his old machete and charged Mephiles.

"YOU SHALL NOT TRIUMPH, YOU MONSTER!!" he cried, but Mephiles laughed coldly, and sent the commander sprawling across the room, the few agents and troop platoons left scurrying over to guard their commander.

Shade noticed one soldier nearby struggling to stand, and quickly stabbed the man's eyes out, cherished his pained screams, and then cut his organs loose, letting him linger in pain.

"I grow tired of this, human filth!" Mephiles growled. "Cooperate and I can make your deaths relatively painless. Now, tell me the codes to access your data archives."

The commander chuckled and spat his blood onto Mephiles. "The second hell freezes over, I will" he sniggered.

Mephiles slowly wiped the blood-spit off, and used his unearthly powers to freeze the air within the commander's throat, laboring his breathing a great deal.

"Commander, surely you don't want to die? A wife and family and a military to look after, anyways..."

"Save it, devil-boy" the commander scoffed, though weak, still determined. "I know all about you... my researchers learned it when they were studying the site... we know what you are..."

Mephiles eyes widened, but he chuckled again. "Then I suppose we'll do it like we always do..." he said.

But then, Kaynyx entered, now calmed down, but vengeance on his mind, glaring at Mephiles.

Shortly after, Shadow and Omega entered as well.

The three of them faced Mephiles, and Mephiles, Shade, and Mauve looked back.

"No one touches the commander and escapes the consequences of death" Kaynyx growled.

Mephiles snorted. "I grow tired of you creatures and your relentless attempts to defeat me!" he hissed. "Do you realize by now that you have not the means to kill me? No living being does!"

He faced Shade and the troops. "Hold them! Once they're down, bring them to me to finish!" Mephiles commanded, although as long as Shadow was his to finish, he didn't care.

Shade nodded, and engaged Shadow again.

Omega targeted the Metarex and fired while Kaynyx engaged the Black Arms.

Mephiles faced Mauve. "Extract the data" he said. "Then we'll return to base."

Mauve sighed. "Yes... master" he muttered, went over to a console, and shoved the dead officer seated there aside.

Mauve sat down, and got to work.

It wasn't going to be easy, as he only had access through the most basic systems...

But he wasn't being made rich just for tarrying along.

Shadow, meanwhile, was so sick of Shade he could vomit, and they were both quite determined to kill each other.

Shadow continually dodged Shade's claws, and finally punched Shade in the stomach. Shade growled, kicked Shadow in the face and threw him to the floor.

Kaynyx, meanwhile, was nearly through with the Black Arms while Omega gunned down and smashed down the Metarex.

Mephiles just paced the area where the commander and the few guards still stood, sneering at them.

But then, three more entered the room; Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge.

Sonic and Knuckles looked fairly rested, and engaged Mephiles while Rouge turned her attention to Mauve.

"Little bastard" she chuckled, and threw one of the knives Mauve had thrown earlier right at the bat, landing between two fingers, nicking a bit of Mauve's ghetto glove.

Mauve turned to look at her, and smirked evilly. "You got spunk, I'll give you that, bitch" he snickered. Mauve pulled the knife free and pocketed it. "But I haven't got time; there's data to be collected, y'know..."

Rouge started forward, but accidentally strained her ribs and stopped.

Shadow wanted to defeat Shade now more than ever so he could focus on protecting Rouge...

He grabbed Shade's hands to stop the echidna's next slash attack, and kneed Shade in the stomach, and punched him down.

Shade quickly recovered, flew to the nearest wall, clung to it, and soared full-speed at Shadow, intending to impale the hedgehog on his blades...

But Shadow warped away, and attempted to slam Shade down, but the echidna warped also, and slashed Shadow's side, making the hedgehog grunt sharply.

While Shadow was distracted, Shade slashed Shadow two more times, seized the hedgehog by the throat, and slammed him into the wall.

Shade snickered evilly. "Now you see true power!" he whispered wickedly, and slammed Shadow into the wall over and over again.

Shadow growled, and finally kneed Shade again, and slammed his fist into Shade's face, and then used a Homing Attack to slam Shade against the far wall.

Rouge normally would've engaged Mauve in hand-to-hand combat, but knew she couldn't win with her ribs like they were, so she merely threw knives and bombs at Mauve, who constantly had to dodge them and deflect them and stay busy on the console.

Mephiles watched all this with amusement, wondering if he'd get lucky enough for Mauve to die the second he was finished retrieving the needed data.

But Kaynyx had slugged Mephiles across the face, the wolf's blue eyes now dazzling sapphire again.

Mephiles rose, and faced the wolf. "Well, well... if I recall, you're that little pup I thought I'd disposed of all those years ago" he said with a menacing chuckle.

Kaynyx growled, his eyes starting to glow again. "You shall answer for your sins!" he barked.

Mephiles laughed coldly. "Oh, that's an awful lot of sins..." he said in an eerie sort of way...

Kaynyx ignored this, and charged Mephiles, slamming the dark being across the room.

Mephiles grunted, stood, and slashed Kaynyx as he charged again, and then sent a surge of energy to smash Kaynyx into a wall.

The wolf growled, his fury renewed, and charged at Mephiles with amazing speed.

When Kaynyx impacted, Mephiles flew into a terminal, and it exploded, sending sparks everywhere.

Mephiles snarled with hate, and sent out a black whip-like weapon, and used it to whip Kaynyx's face, causing the wolf to yelp and growl viciously as blood temporarily blinded his right eye.

But before Mephiles could make a follow-up attack, Sonic and Knuckles hit him from behind.

"I always enjoy taking down the bastards!" Sonic chortled, but was then sent flying by a surge of energy from the dark incarnation.

The fighting continued for a great while, hours it seemed; Shade against Shadow, Mephiles against Kaynyx, Sonic and Knuckles, and Mauve constantly avoiding Rouge's attacks.

The commander was too weak now to attack his enemies, and was surrounded by his troops now, who kept Mephiles and his servants in their sights.

They would have shot Mauve, but the combatants constantly got in their line of fire, and losing one of the Mobians would surely ensure all their deaths.

Omega still contended with the Metarex, and finally finished the last one with a volley of mini-missiles. Then the robot turned his attention to Mauve, who was currently the one he needed to destroy most at the time.

"Mauve! You shall perish!" Omega said, arming a machine-gun turret.

The bat looked up from the console, smiling evilly.

"Will I now?" Mauve said, and hit a quick series of buttons.

Omega's eyes suddenly dimmed a little, and he sat down, not moving. His yellow "Standby" button was glowing.

Mauve snickered, and got back to work.

While the battle raged around him, and carefully dodging and deflecting Rouge's weapons, Mauve finally opened the file he needed after hours of code-bypassing and system overrides and raw hacking...

Mauve's eyes widened in excitement; here was the key to his vault of money, so to speak.

Mauve opened the icon labeled "WEAPON OF CHAOS", and explored it...

Mauve read through it...

Ancient temple...

Built by a long-forgotten race... The same race that designed the Gizoid...

The temple was meant to contain the deadly weapon Mephiles wanted...

G.U.N. had a small camp established there just recently...

Mauve downloaded the data, ignoring the other icon labeled "DARK ORIGIN AND RELIGIOUS CONNECTIONS".

Mauve pulled the disc out, and leapt over to Mephiles, barely dodging Rouge's next knife.

"I got it!" Mauve shouted to Mephiles, the area where his lips should have been expanding oddly as if in a grin.

Shadow, distracted by this, was then slashed across the face by Shade's blade-claws, miraculously missing Shadow's eyes.

Shadow cried out, but Shade didn't stop; he kneed Shadow, and tossed him aside to smash into Sonic.

"What the-?!" Knuckles exclaimed before Mephiles seized the echidna's neck and threw Knuckles with such force it shattered the glass surrounding the commander's podium.

Mephiles then summoned a dark vortex, and it swallowed him, Shade and Mauve, and then they vanished.

Shadow felt his face, blinded with pain and blood.

Sonic got to his feet, rubbing a welt on his head.

Knuckles was bleeding mostly on the torso, though it was hard to tell with his red fur.

The commander slowly and shakily got up as well, supported by two agents, still bleeding a little from a cut on his forehead.

Kaynyx was mostly fine, save for the horrid scar on his face where Mephiles' whip had lashed.

And to top it off, Rouge's broken ribs still prevented her from moving much.

The troops were able to call in a medical ship to come and take them to the Central City base, for no other personnel had survived the attack on the headquarters.

There was only one word for what had happened today:

Defeat.

Aero Fortress

Mephiles was seated on his throne, Dr. Ovator, two Havoc bodyguards for Mephiles (one of them was Zarox, the strongest of the Havocs because of the Gizoid piece that ran in his power core), and Shade the only beings present there with him. Mauve and the human personnel hired by Ovator were celebrating G.U.N.'s crippling loss.

Dr. Ovator was analyzing the data that Mauve had stolen (and the bat had been given the promised 1 million, and was already considering summer homes). Finally, the scientist nodded, and attached it to a screen.

"As you can see, my lord," Dr. Ovator started, "This item you seek is held in a temple created by the ancient civilization, meant to guard it from any who could use it for harm."

Mephiles nodded. "How would I enter?" he asked.

"That," Ovator said, suddenly uncertain, "Is not easy. There are many guardians that protect the temple, controlled by the power of the ancient civilization, much like how they were able to power the Gizoid. There are puzzles as well, and then there are two weapons in the final chamber, and you must decide which is the true one."

"How would I do that?" Mephiles asked.

Dr. Ovator hesitated, and carefully replied; "Master, I don't know myself... but it says that someone ancient and with time-control would have an easier time deciding between the two."

Mephiles nodded, slightly assured. "And if I choose the wrong of the two?" he asked darkly.

Ovator hesitated, and said; "B-By the scrolls that G.U.N. deciphered, they think that if someone were to choose the wrong weapon, the temple itself shall seal you within its foundations and use your power for its own uses, further ensuring the weapon's safety."

Mephiles nodded again. "Very well..." he said, and stood up. "Where is this temple located?"

Ovator sighed, trying not to meet his master's eyes. "It is not said, my lord; G.U.N. likely deleted that information briefly prior to our attack. All we know is that it is guarded by a G.U.N. position, and that it has been reinforced since Mauve stole the data."

Mephiles then sighed, currently content with the available information. "Good enough. Shade, you have command of security tonight. Dr. Ovator, oversee the weapon construction and Havoc upgrades. Then I want you to assign the Shadow Android Mark III for the mission (that we discussed) as soon as Mauve is available to continue his reconnaissance. You two..." Mephiles faced Zarox and the lesser Havoc mech, "Guard the throne. I'm going to rest tonight."

Everyone bowed, and left to their assigned duties.

Shade, however, hesitated. "My lord, what is this weapon you speak of?" he asked.

Mephiles stopped before entering his dark private chambers, lit only by a black flame that seemed to darken the empty (besides a small rug in the shape of interloping symbols) room.

"I cannot tell you that, Shade" Mephiles said coldly, as if he wanted to scold Shade's naivety.

"Just know that this weapon will grant me powers that I myself can barely imagine, and that it is at least a hundred years older than even the Gizoid."

Shade nodded, and bowed again. "Thank you for indulging me, my lord" he said, and left.

Mephiles nodded, and sat down on the rug in his chambers, closed his eyes, and drew upon the darkness...

If anyone were looking closely, they'd notice that the rug was in a design frighteningly like 666...


	10. Plans in Motion

**Chapter Ten: Plans in Motion**

Shade leaned against a wall in the control room, where several scientists drank from champagne.

He took no part in the celebration, and as security was at full-capacity at the Aero Fortress, Shade had little to do at the moment.

Mauve had finished two beers, and was forbidden to have any more than that, seeing as he had an important mission tomorrow, so he passed the time gambling with the scientists and Ovator's colleagues. Shade glared at the bat in disgust; the fiend had no honor, only greed drove him to serve Mephiles, the Lord of Evil and Darkness, the Lord of Death and Destruction and Chaos...

A nearby person approached Shade, hesitantly, as if deciding the echidna would rather be left alone or not.

"S-sir?" he finally managed to say.

Shade's red eyes quickly swerved to meet the man's, the glowing eyes that showed no pupils looked frighteningly unnatural.

"What?" Shade snapped, his dislike of humans only mounted by Mephiles, who hated all life except those who served alongside him, and especially hated those who directly oppose him, such as the humans or the Mobian majority.

The man swallowed a lump of fear, and said; "I-I was ordered to get you anything you might need, sir."

Shade sneered. "I take no pleasure in this victory; if it hadn't been for the cowardly tactics we've had to resort to with our few numbers, we wouldn't have won!" he growled. "But... since you're here, fetch me some red wine and maybe I'll forgive your insolence."

The man bowed, and scurried away like the rat Shade saw him to be.

Shade was in doubt, as he was more and more often these days, something he kept concealed from his master...

Shade had always had a vague sense of honor; even Shadow, the one he despised so much for claiming to be the Ultimate Life Form, had earned Shade's respect for Shadow's prowess in battle. This was the reason Shade hated Mauve so much; the bat had no instinct to give even his most worthy foes a fair chance, was fueled mostly by greed, and had an insatiable thirst from his pervertedness to violate women.

And this was also the reason he doubted so much; he knew serving Mephiles was his true purpose, but his master's ways were... debatable, to say the least.

Killing innocents, torturing defenseless opponents... it didn't agree with Shade on some terms...

Mephiles told Shade, time and time again, that this was all for the greater good, that when it was over, the empire that Mephiles would establish with Shade as his general would establish a new order of power, and that honor would reign supreme.

This epic vision drove Shade on, but he couldn't help but feel the guilt of practically betraying himself was a little sickening at times...

"Your wine, sir?"

Shade awoke from his thoughts, and took the red wine without comment. The server retreated quickly.

Shade gulped down his wine, shattered the glass across the room, and decided to retire for the night.

* * *

G.U.N. Base, 0100 hours at dark. Underground Central City Network

Shadow and the others had their wounds tended too. Shadow's scars had recovered already, but still scathed his otherwise unflawed, stern face. Knuckles was (much to the echidna's irritation), confined to bed so the bandages could more easily mend the many scars under his fur.

Sonic was lucky, having only needed some pain killers and ointment for his head injury, but that was still enough to worry Amy Rose, who came as soon as she heard that G.U.N. Headquarters had fallen. The pink hedgehog burst into Sonic's room, sobbing into his chest; "I SHOULD NEVER HAVE LET YOU GO WITHOUT ME!!", getting many stares.

Sonic patted her awkwardly, pecking Amy's cheek and assuring Amy he was fine, but she just cried harder, saying; "OH, YOU'RE SO STRONG!!"

Shadow rolled his eyes, and went to see Rouge, who, in Shadow's opinion, had suffered the worst with her broken ribs.

Rouge was reading a magazine when Shadow came in, and put it down immediately. She smiled faintly up at Shadow, who smiled back.

"Hey" Shadow said gently, and sat next to Rouge's bed, stroking her hair soothingly.

"Hey" Rouge replied, relaxing at Shadow's touch.

Shadow stroked Rouge's cheek, and noticed Rouge gazing worriedly at Shadow's scars on his face.

"Don't worry; they'll vanish by tomorrow morning" Shadow said, smiling faintly again. "Your ribs, however, won't."

Rouge frowned and recoiled from Shadow's touch. "You don't need to tell me how I screwed up, okay?!"

Rouge turned (with some difficulty) away from Shadow, and lay still.

Shadow frowned, and put his hand on Rouge's shoulder.

"Rouge, you didn't fail any more than the rest of us did" Shadow said. "If the mechs hadn't gone haywire and struck at us before Mephiles had come, we would've won. Our headquarters would still be stable..."

"We'd be on our honeymoon" Rouge muttered, and heaved a deep sigh.

Shadow went to the other side, and gazed into Rouge's eyes, and she gazed back.

Shadow smiled, bent down, and gently kissed her lips.

It was a small act, but nonetheless gave the two of them a small boost of morale and hope as the darkness of their defeat had clouded many people's morale, even the stout commander's (who had spent only a little over a day in the hospital before returning to active duty).

When it broke, their eyes shined at each other, and they knew that as long as their love endured, so would they and their hope.

* * *

Three Days Later

By this time Rouge was allowed out of bed, but still unable to go into active duty or anything that strained her ribs, but was grateful for the freedom to walk the base with Shadow, nonetheless.

Everyone in the base was trying to locate Mephiles' fortress and organize a counter-attack. They knew that Mephiles' strength was minimal, otherwise he'd have attacked the headquarters with legions of Black Arms and Metarex.

No, Mephiles still didn't have enough troops to contend with G.U.N. on his own, at least not yet. Even the Havoc robots could last in battle only for so long, after all.

And then there was Omega's situation; Mauve had shut him down with a G.U.N.-brand transponder code, meaning he'd have to have had G.U.N. access, which didn't seem likely...

Unless, as the commander concluded the night before, an ex-G.U.N. employee was working for Mephiles.

There were three suspects: Sergeant Czar, Professor Second-class John Bruce, or Senior-class Dr. Ovator Robotnox.

G.U.N. almost immediately discarded Sergeant Czar, who had fought over fifty battles for G.U.N., and had been a prisoner of war for three years, not saying anything, and then escaping by himself. Czar now had only recently been diagnosed with arthritis and was living a quiet life in retirement.

As for Ovator and John Bruce, they were more likely, having been the type of personnel to know those codes, and probably helped create the codes that made the mechs go on a rampage (who was now almost certainly Mauve who had hacked in, the knives on the bodies of the personnel there were easily recognizable).

The commander didn't want to sound biased, but he and over a dozen others suspected Ovator most, knowing he was a distant relative to Eggman himself...

But their first priority was to find Mephiles' base of operations, and retaliate so hard Mephiles would think a nuke hit him right between the eyes.

Most agents were low in morale or recovering, leaving only two full teams to act as reconnaissance, leaving virtually no one to find the fortress and neutralize it, not while Rouge's ribs hadn't healed and Omega still needed to be reactivated...

But then, there was another way to find Mephiles' fortress and report back...

But the commander didn't like it.

Not one bit, but it had to be done; he didn't see another way around it.

* * *

Chaotix Agency, 3:34 in the afternoon

Vector yawned widely as he leaned back in his recliner, trying not to fall asleep by glancing at Espio, who paced uneasily about the room. Charmy wasn't present, however; the excitable bee was going to G.U.N. to find out if the rumors of their defeat were true...

This is what unsettled Espio as the chameleon paced the office, muttering darkly.

"Espio, give it a rest!" Vector finally said exasperatedly. "G.U.N.'s stronger than that, and they got Shadow and Rouge and that robot helping them! C'mon, just chill out!"

Espio shot him a glare. "The signs point to the worst, and you expect me to ignore it?" he growled. "The winds bring unfair change and misfortune... darkness is brewing and light is wavering... the stench of evil it carries is unmistakable..."

Vector rolled his eyes, but not so Espio could see. "Espio, you worry too much!" he insisted. "When Charmy gets back, we'll know-"

As if on cue, the sound of buzzing was heard, and Espio and Vector raised their arms reflexively to block the wild bee, but they looked, and saw, for the first time, considerable gloom on the bee's face.

Charmy looked at them, and said; "Yeah... they got beaten up pretty dang bad..." in a quiet, hollow voice.

"Damn!" Espio growled. "I told you, Vector! I told you that something was wrong!"

"Hey now, don't point fingers at me!" Vector said, trying not to get flushed. "Charmy, do you know who beat them?"

Charmy shrugged, and quietly zoomed over to his candy stash. "They said it was... uh, like top-secret crassitied stuff or something..."

"'Classified', dumbbell!" Vector muttered.

"That's not all..." Charmy added, obviously hoping his dramatic addition would get a dramatic reply.

It did.

Espio and Vector approached Charmy, almost face-to-face, and he said; "They have a job for us."

* * *

Aero Fortress, 0348 hours

Mephiles paced the altar around his throne, deep in thought, the Havoc mechs standing alert about five feet from him, when finally, the door opened to show Shade, Mauve, Dr. Ovator, and the state-of-the-art Shadow Android Mark III, which even the Havocs almost targeted, it was so real.

"Reporting, my lord" Shade said, bowing on one knee, the others bowing low at their waists.

Mephiles seated himself. "Rise, Shade, and listen well, servants of the glorious cause" he said silkily. "I have a task for you... it is required to wipe out the Mobian filth that would oppose us!"

Mauve shifted a tad, perhaps in discomfort, but the room was otherwise silent (they knew better than to speak unless spoken to by Mephiles).

The dark incarnation eased back into the elegantly carved, black marble throne surrounded by the torches of black flames, and continued.

"You see, I am going to lower the Aero Fortress in exactly fifteen minutes, and keep it that way until this is done, for we must use real bait to draw in our prey... G.U.N. will no likely send at least three Mobian foes to us, and eliminating them will be critical in weakening our enemies, as you know... for if no Mobian stands against us, the path is almost as good as clear... I know Shadow and Rouge won't be present; the bat's wounded and Shadow will want to look after her, so I'm guessing Kaynyx and at least three others, maybe more... they will see our prey, draw close..."

Mephiles' eyes gleamed, and flicked over to the Shadow Android, who looked back.

"Then, as Mauve lures them here, Ovator, you will send the android out to deceive them into thinking its Shadow. If everyone is smart about it-" Mephiles' gaze flicked to Mauve long enough to shoot a quick glare- "This plan will not fail, and some of our greatest enemies shall fall. If Kaynyx is with them, as I'm guessing, that alone will be a huge loss to G.U.N.; even compared to the likes of Shadow, Kaynyx is a worthy opponent. Any questions?"

Everyone was silent, but Shade stepped forward, not to Mephiles' surprise.

"My lord, what of Shadow and his companions?" Shade asked. "They are still the larger threat, aren't they?"

Mephiles' eyes showed amusement for a fraction of a second. "Yes, Shade; Shadow is the only one to have bested me in one-on-one combat, after all, and even though I have adapted and strengthened, I'm positive Gerald did not overlook that when creating Shadow, that the Ultimate Life From should adapt too... maybe even learn new abilities..." Mephiles hissed.

"What do you mean, my lord?" Shade asked rather boldly (Shade was really the only one who got away with asking Mephiles many questions).

Mephiles sighed. "Such as when he didn't learn Chaos Blast until his anger manifested itself, and he drew upon the darkness for strength (pity he didn't join us, that was merely the surface of what it could've been), but I'm guessing you and Shadow still have abilities yet to be unearthed; though powerful you both are, I'm still not convinced either of you are 'Ultimate Life Forms'. But to answer your first question, Shade the Echidna, by disposing of this threat, the overall threat itself is not as immediate or dangerous, therefore making it easier to analyze, undermine, and terminate."

Shade nodded, bowed quickly, and stepped back into place.

"Any other questions?" Mephiles asked. There were none.

"Now carry out your tasks, and leave me be" Mephiles said with a lazy wave of his hand.

Everyone bowed lowly, and backed out of the room.

Mephiles inhaled deeply, as if trying to get something more than oxygen out of the air.

"Soon, Iblis..." he hissed distantly. "Soon, my brother in souls... I will reunite with you, and rest assured, I will not let us become separate again..."

* * *

G.U.N. Central City Operations Base, 0503 hours

Six people now set out from G.U.N.'s base; The Chaotix, Kaynyx the wolf, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Knuckles the Echidna.

The Chaotix were being accompanied by Sonic and Knuckles merely for backup in case of battle, and Kaynyx was there to make sure they followed orders to the letter.

The Chaotix had been given the task to try and locate Mephiles' fortress and report back, as they were the only ones, supposedly, with the skill or willing to search the fortress out.

The commander had offered them this job, and Vector, of course, had asked what they were willing to pay for this job.

The commander told them to name their price, so they did...

50,000, more than fair, a price that would allow the team to live in luxury for a good while.

The commander had agreed, and the Chaotix set out with the companions the commander sent with them.

As the six of them set out, Knuckles was eager, as always, to get to the fighting.

"As soon as we meet them..." the echidna growled, and smashed his fists together, grinning.

Kaynyx frowned on him. "We're here simply for extra muscle, Knuckles" he reminded him. "We're not to engage the enemy."

Knuckles grumbled, but didn't retort.

Sonic was quiet for the most part, only making occasional small talk with Knuckles, but the Chaotix were going on and on about how they'd spend their reward.

"I'm gonna buy all the junk food in the market!!" Charmy was saying, buzzing loudly around the group (Kaynyx forced himself to resist his urge to get angry and attack the bee).

"Maybe I can get a decent room to myself and finish my katana collection" Espio was saying wistfully.

"We'll get a bigger, better office, and a plasma-screen television with a DVD player/recorder!" Vector said, rubbing his hands together.

Kaynyx was the only one who was thinking about what this mission would mean. Small as it may seemed, if they struck Mephiles soon, and struck hard and swift, the dark creature may never get a chance to start a campaign again.

And if this fortress was where the Havocs were being produced, all the better they knew where it was...

This mission was critical to their victory, even Knuckles knew.


	11. Element of Surprise

**Chapter Eleven: Element of Surprise...**

Mauve hovered gently over some dead trees, keeping a careful watch over the surrounding area, knowing that their targets would be arriving soon.

The bat sighed, and took out a canteen of vodka and took a long, refreshing swig. The taste sent warmth to Mauve's head, and he gazed again into his binoculars, multiple data readouts flashing in the corner.

Finally, his binoculars detected six readings, and zoomed in on them. Sure enough, Kaynyx the Wolf, Sonic, Knuckles, and the Chaotix were headed his way.

Mauve smirked, and activated his com-link. "They're headed our way" he said to Mephiles on the other line. "Shall I continue my reconnaissance?"

Mephiles chuckled. "Yes, the second you've lured them in the right direction" he replied, and closed the link.

Mauve pulled out a flash-bang grenade, and set it into a launcher he'd been given. His plan was to shoot it in the general direction where Kaynyx and the other Mobians would catch a glimpse of the Aero Fortress... and then be ambushed.

Mauve loaded the grenade, aimed, and fired.

As soon as it vanished, Mauve spread his wings and returned to the Aero Fortress.

* * *

With Kaynyx and the others

* * *

The Chaotix were now in the lead of the group, searching for any evidence of where they might find the Aero Fortress. They occasionally found footprints that vaguely matched the soles of Mauve's boots, but were otherwise on a wild goose chase, finding little evidence and going only in a general direction. Kaynyx was starting to wonder if hiring common dogs would've been better...

Suddenly, there was a flash on the horizon, catching everyone's attention.

"What in the name of Mobius was that?!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Vector said, suddenly smiling. "It's a clue! Maybe their fortress is producing some experimental weapons, and that's what they look like from a distance!"

Kaynyx was frowning, though. "It seems too easy and obvious..." he said. "It could be a trap..."

"Maybe, but it's a hell of a lot better than going by signs in the mud" Espio commented. "Even if it is a trap, it could be a lure to what we're looking for... so long as we're careful, we should be okay..."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I need to get back and see how Amy's holding up, anyway" he said eagerly.

Kaynyx sighed. "Yes, I suppose this is a better lead than what we had..." he agreed reluctantly. "Very well, lead the way Chaotix. Everyone be on guard."

"We're always on guard!!" Charmy exclaimed, accidentally zipping into a tree.

* * *

Later

* * *

The group had progressed almost a mile when they arrived at the scene where the grenade went off (there was a big scorch mark in the dirt). The Chaotix were looking everywhere for signs, slowly leading them on, until they saw what looked like several more scorch marks.

"See? I told you they were probably experimenting with something!" Vector said triumphantly. "Judging by all these scorch marks, they've probably used this place regularly to test some new weapon!!"

"Or an older one..." Espio said, bending down to examine the scorch marks more closely. "These were all caused by flash-bang grenades; you can tell by the trace amounts of pale-gray powder left here and the fact that the explosion didn't sear the earth too deeply..."

Sonic yawned loudly, making everyone look at him. "Yeah, yeah, can we get on with the search?!" he said with a frown.

Kaynyx suddenly sniffed the air. "Everyone... wait..." he said slowly. "I smell someone coming... another Mobian, I think... but there's a slight metallic under-scent... everyone get down!!"

Everyone did, suddenly thinking Shade the Echidna (with his metal claws) would be upon them...

Instead, Shadow the Hedgehog emerged, looking a little battered.

"Can't you guys shake off your paranoia for two seconds?!" he growled.

Kaynyx sighed relief, as did Espio (everyone else seemed to frown more, except Vector, who seemed to grow a little nervous). Kaynyx approached Shadow and saluted. "Agent Shadow, what are you doing here?" he asked, dropping his hand as Shadow wearily saluted back.

"Yeah, I thought you were supposed to be banging Rouge?" Knuckles asked with a smirk.

Shadow's eyes flashed dangerously at Knuckles, silencing him at once.

"Yes, I was, but the commander thought it'd be best if I were to personally see how you were all holding out" Shadow replied, smirking. "I can see you idiots have managed to hold your own fairly well... then of course, you have a REAL G.U.N. officer with you" Shadow said, nodding at Kaynyx.

"The commander would've contacted you, but he didn't want to risk the message being intercepted if you were near Mephiles' fortress" Shadow continued. "I ran into some Black Arms along the way..."

"Oh, you slowing up Shadow?!" Sonic chortled, and Knuckles and Charmy laughed.

Shadow bared his teeth, but ignored them otherwise. "They took me by surprise" he told Kaynyx. "If we hurry, we may be able to follow them to Mephiles' base. Come on!"

But before Shadow could go much further, Kaynyx stopped him again. "How many are there?" the wolf asked.

Shadow shrugged. "Ten or twelve, I finished most of them before I got here" he said. "Now why are we hanging around still? Let's go!!"

So they followed Shadow without further ado, hurrying along past some hills that became increasingly withered as they progressed. After nearly an hour, Shadow came to an abrupt halt.

"Look!!" he said, pointing upwards.

They did, and saw what looked like a floating, metal castle with gun turrets...

But it quickly vanished behind the clouds, and when the clouds cleared again, it was gone.

"Am... I going insane?!" Knuckles asked, dumbstruck.

"No... we all saw it..." Kaynyx mumbled.

"My God... that was an engineering feat..." Shadow muttered. "Bah, I sound like Tails... look! The Black Arms!" Shadow pointed again.

Sure enough, they looked to see about a dozen of the Black Aliens limping away from them.

"Good... let's finish them!" Sonic exclaimed, and rushed forward, but Kaynyx stopped them.

Someone was crawling towards them, and when they all saw it, the only one who didn't seem surprised was Shadow...

Tikal the Echidna, bleeding and exhausted, crawled toward them and collapsed.

* * *

Aero Fortress, Control Room

* * *

Mephiles, Dr. Ovator, and Shade were gathered around the technician who was running the Shadow Android's controls.

"Yes, yes, very good..." Mephiles mused. "Once they realize they're outnumbered 200-1, the mech will already have killed half of them..."

"Um... m-my lord?" the technician suddenly whimpered. "There's a-a problem..."

"WHAT?!" Mephiles barked, and his eyes widened when he saw Tikal crawling towards his enemies.

"Damn... the Android didn't finish her when it met!" Mephiles snarled. "Try and get the others to finish her off for us."

"Yes my lord!" the technician said, and furiously typed in a command.

"My, my... they're about to kill an old friend they haven't seen in years..." Mephiles mused. "Tsk, tsk..."

* * *

With Kaynyx and the others

* * *

Tikal coughed a little, and looked up at them all.

"Tikal?!" Sonic and Knuckles exclaimed at once, and Knuckles rushed over and helped Tikal up.

Kaynyx checked Tikal's pulse. "She's fine... just weary and wounded" he reported.

"Don't touch her!" Shadow suddenly shouted. "She attacked me on my way to meet you! She's not who you think she is, she's an imposter!"

Sonic frowned at him, and then looked at Tikal. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Tikal grunted, and looked desperately at them. "That's... not the real Shadow..." she mumbled in a weak voice. "He's an android... I saw his eyes glow... get us out of here!"

Shadow's frown deepened as everyone now looked between him and Tikal. "She attacked me, I tell you, damn it all! She's the imposter!!" he growled in his old, irritated way.

"Who do we trust?" Sonic muttered to Knuckles, who still held Tikal.

"Even if it is the real Shadow, I'd take my chances with attacking him instead" Knuckles growled. "I've been dying to get a swing at him... all the better if HE'S the imposter..."

Sonic nodded slowly, and looked at Shadow.

"If Tikal was an imposter, wouldn't they be leading us into false security?" Sonic said, suddenly accusing.

Kaynyx approached Shadow, who suddenly looked wary. "Agent Shadow, under the circumstances, I believe it'd be fit to feel for your pulse..." he said.

Shadow recoiled. "No, there's no need! I'm the real Shadow, damn it!!" he growled...

But Kaynyx snarled and smashed his fist right into Shadow's face, and the hedgehog fell down the hill, getting gasps from the Chaotix, wide eyes from Sonic, and a grin from Knuckles.

"The real Shadow would submit to proving himself real!" Kaynyx growled.

The Shadow at the bottom of the hill suddenly had glowing red eyes, and multiple weapons were coming out of its hands to form a chain-gun turret with an attached shotgun barrel on one, and a flame-thrower with attached blades on the other, and leapt at Kaynyx, kicking him straight down.

Sonic moved in, but the Shadow Android suddenly scorched his backside with the flame-thrower, and slashed him with one of the blades, making Sonic howl in pain, so Knuckles eased Tikal down and punched the Shadow Android while its back was turned. But the Android rolled with blow, regained its feet, and then shot Knuckles in the stomach.

Knuckles cried out in pain and slumped to the ground.

Espio and Vector moved at once, hoping to overwhelm it, but the Android was too fast, and slashed Vector and smashed him aside, and actually blew off a part of Espio's head-shell. The chameleon cried out and fell down. And before Charmy could even act, the Android smashed him aside and broke his wings.

The Shadow Android's eyes gleamed, and it faced the group of fallen Mobians.

"Now, you shall all perish in the great lord's name; MEPHILES THE DARK!!" it cackled, and readied its chain-gun.

But then, a blood-curdling howl broke the air, and Kaynyx – eyes now a dazzling sapphire – ripped off the android's gun-arm, and smashed the mech into the ground, smearing away the fur-covering and revealing a metal face beneath.

But Kaynyx didn't stop there; he stomped on the android's head over a dozen times, and then ripped the rest of the android into scattered, sparking bits of scrap metal.

Kaynyx finally calmed down, and then administrated treatment on Knuckles, whose wound was the most mortal. Kaynyx plucked the bullet out, cleaned the wound with a perfectly clean and safe injection, and used some bio-foam (G.U.N. contraband only) to seal the wound.

Once he'd patched up Knuckles with some bandages, Kaynyx used what few he had left for Espio and Tikal, and the last ones on Sonic's and Vector's slash-wounds.

"Ironic that we should all be wounded this shortly after G.U.N. Headquarters' fall" Kaynyx muttered darkly, and heaving them all gently onto his back (Charmy was carried in his arms to prevent much contact with his broken wings), Kaynyx began the long trek back to Central City.

* * *

Aero Fortress

* * *

Mephiles glared at the now static-filled screen of the Shadow Android while Ovator, Shade, and the technician avoided eye contact with their master.

"Shade?!" Mephiles snarled all of a sudden.

The echidna carefully faced his master, more confused than frightened. "My lord... it... it may be a minor, remote malfunction... er, ask him!" Shade pointed at the technician, not out of fear, but because he knew if it was anyone who had failed his almighty master, it was the human filth.

Mephiles, who seemed to agree, slowly approached the technician, and made direct eye contact.

"Do you know what happens to those who fail me and jeopardize my campaign?" Mephiles asked in an eerily calm voice.

The technician was so pale only snow outdid his lack of color. "N-n..." he started, but Mephiles suddenly sank a blade into the man's chest, and what little color remained in the man vanished with a sickening sucking sound, and the man shriveled up like a raisin, and fell out of the chair.

Dr. Ovator stared in horror while Shade smirked and Mephiles sighed contently as the man's blood-energy was fully absorbed into him.

"Ovator, I trust you can rectify this error?" Mephiles asked.

"Y-Yes, my lord, y-your gracious majesty!" Ovator peeped, now paler than the technician had been before his death.

Mephiles nodded. "Good. Let me know when you've learned what happened" he said calmly. "If even one of the Mobians died, I will be most satisfied today... Shade, watch over him. Make sure he works quickly and effectively."

Shade bowed low, and then turned to watch Ovator, determined to do better than his best.


	12. Secrets Revealed

**Chapter Twelve: Secrets Revealed**

Shadow and Rouge sat cuddled on the bed in Shadow's temporary room. Due to G.U.N.'s advanced medical treatments, Rouge would be back to active duty in two days now. She now slowly stroked Shadow's chest fur, smiling to herself as Shadow ruffled her ears, stroking her back soothingly.

The two of them had not felt this comfortable since before their honeymoon had been interrupted.

Shadow, smiling slightly, now gently nuzzled Rouge's cheek and kissed her, making Rouge coo and snuggle up closer to him.

Shadow kissed Rouge's forehead, and sighed contently. "How shall we make up for our honeymoon, my love?" he whispered, now looking into Rouge's large aqua eyes.

Rouge smiled back and licked Shadow's lips lightly. "Hmm... we could always do it here..." Rouge gave him a sly, almost evil smirk. "Right now..."

Shadow grinned mischievously. "Certainly..." he purred, and locked lips with Rouge, slowly letting his caring, love, and lust all slowly reach their boiling point before Shadow released himself upon the one he loved more than anything.

Rouge moaned softly in anticipation, now on her knees and caressing Shadow's arms and slowing her hands to feel his muscles.

Shadow purred and caressed Rouge's neck with his tongue, making her moan a little louder. Shadow slowly pushed Rouge onto her back and climbed on top of her...

But the door suddenly swung open and Shadow did a sort of half-backflip to get off Rouge and fell off the bed and onto his head.

Moonlight and Jewel (Rouge's sisters, if you recall the wedding) now stood there. Moonlight was smirking mischievously at Rouge, and Jewel was heaving with laughter at Shadow.

"Hey, sis..." Moonlight said hesitantly, trying hard not to giggle as Rouge blushed and Shadow rubbed his head, muttering the darkest of curses. "We were still in town when we heard about... you know, the accident... so we were granted access here to see how you were..."

"She's fine" Shadow growled and stormed out of the room.

Moonlight was now grinning. "Were you two...?" she asked Rouge with a questioning look in her eyes.

Rouge's blush became slightly deeper. "Er... y-yeah..." she said, rubbing her shoulder in embarrassment.

At this, Jewel laughed even harder. When she finally caught her breath, she said; "Well, sorry sis, but we had to see if you were doing okay... oh, and something else!"

Rouge stood up, her cheeks regaining their normal color. "What? Did Kaynyx find the fortress?" she asked urgently.

Moonlight cast an angry look at Jewel, apparently not wanting Rouge to know that just yet. "Well, Rouge... er, yes and no... come with us..." she said uncomfortably.

The three of them walked to a room where the commander, two bodyguards and two guard drones, and Kaynyx stood. Kaynyx looked a bit tired and ruffled, but still managed his sad smile at them.

"Please, be seated" the large wolf said kindly. "It's better that you're here... sir, may her sisters hear this as well?"

The commander nodded. "Just as well, Agent Rouge would probably tell them anyway" he said with a grim smile at Rouge.

"Not if you asked otherwise, sir" she said, slightly offended.

"Heh, yeah rig-" Moonlight started but Jewel elbowed her sharply in the ribs.

"Of course, I'd like Shadow here as well... I'll contact him" the commander said, walking over to a nearby terminal. "Kaynyx, carry on."

Kaynyx nodded, and faced Rouge and her sisters. "Well, as you know, I was sent with Sonic, Knuckles, and the Chaotix to search for Mephiles' fortress..." he began.

Rouge nodded, but Jewel's eyes widened and Moonlight looked confused.

"Who's Mephiles?" Moonlight asked.

Jewel rolled her eyes. "Damn sis, he's the one the paper declared the most dangerous enemy of the government!" she said.

Moonlight's eyes widened slightly. "Oh... right... even more dangerous than Eggman?" she asked.

"ANYWAY..." Kaynyx interjected, "We followed the path that supposedly was covered in hints to their whereabouts, and we ran across a most interesting person..." Kaynyx said, his gaze lingering on Rouge.

"What, who?" Moonlight asked. "Santa Claus?"

"Goddamn sis" Jewel muttered, slapping Moonlight upside the head.

Kaynyx's smile grew slightly more cheerful, but then he became serious again. "No, it was Shadow."

Everyone else's eyes widened except the commander's. "Wh-what?!" Rouge stuttered. "But Shadow's been here the whole time!"

"So I supposed" Kaynyx said. "And the commander confirmed it. I didn't know it was an imposter until too late... because of my folly everyone else now lies in the infirmary" Kaynyx added with an angry look in his face.

"It's not your fault" Rouge said somewhat hastily, patting Kaynyx on the shoulder.

Kaynyx smiled at her grimly. "Rouge, no need to reassure me" he said. "My anger can only trigger my power if I wish to harm my enemies; no one here is in danger."

Rouge, now looking a bit calmer, sat back down with her sisters.

"Anyway, if not for another strange encounter, we may not have found out until half of us were already dead" Kaynyx said. "Tikal the Echidna was found by us, wounded and claiming that the Shadow imposter attacked her..."

Before any questions to this peculiar statement could be asked, however, a blue flash announced Shadow's arrival.

"I miss anything?" he asked, leaning up to the wall nearest where Rouge sat and folded his arms casually.

Rouge quickly filled him in (occasionally interrupted by her sisters), Shadow nodded without question, and Kaynyx continued his story.

"The imposter Shadow wounded the others badly... I was only able to get to it in time to save them from death" Kaynyx said. "Knuckles got the worst of it, but it was a glancing blow, so there won't be any permanent damage other than some scars. Espio's head-shell will always have a gaping hole in it now, but at least it didn't hit anything vital. Tikal will be okay too, she just needs some rest. Everyone else should be back on their feet in a few standard days."

Everyone nodded.

"Now, Kaynyx, if I may return to the main point..." the commander said, he and his guard stepping forward. "I would hope that you managed to locate Mephiles' fortress during this catastrophe? I would not have wanted all these people hurt for a lost cause" he added sincerely.

Kaynyx smiled slightly in spite of himself. "Yes sir, I think you'll like what I'm about to show you..." he said, standing up.

* * *

G.U.N. Infirmary

* * *

Tikal the Echidna lay on her bed, feeling rather confused...

How long had she been gone, she wondered? She had seen Sonic battle that giant, blue monster and then... she just went her own way, to Angel Island to visit Knuckles, and then left to try and find her original home... and found another island...

The place had been older, far older-looking than even the relics on Angel Island said to be connected to the ancient civilization that built the Gizoid... or was it on Angel Island? The place she had found was a large temple... and then she had met someone, but Tikal couldn't remember who...

They had been somewhat shaped like a hedgehog, though...

Then everything had gone dark, and she remembered snippets of people whispering words of comfort to her... then suddenly turning hissing and gnashing curses at her...

Tikal had then awoke, far from the island, far from Knuckles or anyone else...

So she started a journey to find them all again...

And now, here she was.

The door opened, and in limped Knuckles, smiling softly at her.

"Hi... how are you Tikal?" he asked slowly.

Tikal chuckled. "Well... better than I was, all things considered" she said. "Sorry we couldn't have met on happier circumstances..."

Knuckled shrugged. "Hey, it's cool" he replied and approached Tikal.

She looked out the window briefly, and looked back at Knuckles. "Knuckles... what's going on?" she asked quietly.

Knuckles sighed. "Tikal, I'm not sire I could tell you that..." he said. "Except that there's this really freaky dude named Mephiles who's, like, obsessed with chaos and destruction. He has a bunch of baddies in his pocket, including someone who related to Eggman somehow and... you know that Shadow guy that's with us?"

Tikal nodded, frowning as she also remembered the Shadow Android.

"Well, Mephiles has another echidna that looks kinda like Shadow with him, too. Same powers and everything as Shadow, and two blade-things that come out of each hand... I fought him once and won" Knuckles boasted (this being untrue).

Tikal smiled a little. "You always were a tough one" she said casually.

"Heh... yeah, I guess" Knuckles chuckled. "Hey, I had a question..."

"I don't doubt it" Tikal replied, smiling a little more.

"Yeah... well, where are you staying, anyway?" Knuckles asked.

Tikal's smile vanished. "Nowhere... I... I was looking for a permanent place to stay when I left Angel Island, but... I can hardly remember that now..."

Knuckles face looked serious and concerned now, and he put a hand on Tikal's shoulder.

"Well... um... you know, you could always stay at... er, that is... my place, y'know..." Knuckles said, now feeling a little squeamish and he didn't know why. "I... I have a stone hut I built out of some ruins... G.U.N. managed to get some satellite and electricity going there for my services to them, it's not too bad... you can sleep on the couch until we get you a bed... that is... um..."

But before he could stutter another word, Tikal tightly embraced him. Knuckles froze for a while, his face starting to match his fur.

"Thanks Knuckles..." Tikal said quietly, and nuzzled Knuckles' shoulder a bit.

"Er... duh... um... y-you're welcome..." Knuckles said, lamely patting Tikal's head.

Tikal was grinning now, feeling the warmth of another person that had felt so lost and forgotten just moments ago...

* * *

With Shadow, Rouge, Kaynyx and the others

* * *

"... So it's still being tracked, then?" Shadow said, feeling slightly elated since their defeat at G.U.N. Headquarters seemed about to be compensated ten-fold.

"Yes, Agent Shadow" Kaynyx said, smirking. "Once I had a visual, I was barely able to upload the image onto my optical-camera and then send a homing-beacon to the image..."

"Which means we should be able to track it here, far from their eyes..." Rouge murmured, now grinning as she locked onto the Aero Fortress's signal.

"Gotcha!" Rouge said triumphantly and with a somewhat eager smirk.

She began uploading the fortress's schematics, security data, and anything else she could get her hands on.

"Always the one to jump to nerd-hack things, aren't ya sis?" Moonlight joked, playfully slapping Rouge on the back.

"At least I don't run into poles and damage my brain as a kid" Rouge muttered, making Moonlight laugh.

The commander smiled slightly at Kaynyx, which was a very small fraction of the gratitude he felt.

"Well done, Major Kaynyx" he said. "Now we can hit Mephiles, and we can hit him hard..."

"Sir, an aerial strike would be... er, costly..." Rouge said, suddenly frowning. "This 'Aero Fortress' as they call it is armed to the teeth with missile launchers, top-of-the-line laser turrets that could cut capital ships into slivers, magnetic force-propulsion cannons that can send capital ships spinning at a 360 degree angle and disintegrate fighters and bombers... and machine and laser turrets that are capable of taking down dozens of fighters before they're even in firing range of this place... Mephiles has obviously been working hard on this for a VERY long time..."

"What if we landed a group inside the fortress, and destroyed it from the inside-out?" Kaynyx suggested.

"No..." Rouge muttered. "It would take twice as many ships as G.U.N. has in its global fleet to take this thing down... a small carrier-shuttle wouldn't even get past the first line of guns; I even ran a simulation on it."

Shadow cursed, not seeing a way past it either... if the fortress was armed for any kind of aerial assault imaginable, how were they to enter it? Chaos Control couldn't get them all the way up there, either...

"Hey, sis!" Moonlight said suddenly. "Could you fly a ship close enough to actually SEE the fortress?"

"Uh... yeah... but not much closer than that..." Rouge said slowly.

"What if Shadow came, and used that warp-thingy he does to get you past all the guns and in the fortress?" Moonlight said.

Rouge considered for a moment, looked at the schematics again, and her mouth slowly split into a grin.

"Yes... yes, that might work!" she said happily, and Shadow smiled slightly.

Jewel shook her head and approached her sister. "Sometimes you amaze me girl" she laughed.

The commander smiled too. "Good, very good... Shadow, Rouge, Omega has been reactivated and given safeguards so that Mauve cannot shut him down in a similar fashion. I'd leave it to you three, but you'll need more help than that... Kaynyx will accompany you, as will Sonic and Knuckles... hopefully I can convince Tails to accompany you as well, he'd be useful in an infiltration."

"With respect sir, so am I" Rouge said with a smile.

The commander almost chuckled, nodded, and said; "Very well. All the same though, once you get inside, link up with Tails so we can help from here."

"Very good sir. Shall we set off now?" Kaynyx asked.

"Negative. Sonic and Knuckles still need some mending. And you could use some rest" the commander said.

"Should we at least form a plan while we can, sir?" Shadow asked.

The commander was silent, looking troubled. Finally he said; "Shadow, Kaynyx, come with me. Rouge, get some rest. When we return, we'll formulate a plan."

Confused as they were, Shadow and Kaynyx nodded, Rouge saluted and left. Moonlight and Jewel looked at each other, shrugged, and decided to go home. Shadow and Kaynyx followed the commander out of the room.

They walked down a long, dimly-lit hall, and Shadow knew the commander was taking them to an interrogation chamber where no one else could hear their conversation. They arrived at large, black steel door, and the commander told the two human guards to wait outside while the guard-drones, Shadow and Kaynyx followed.

The commander shut the door, hit a series of lock-codes and triple-confirmed it with several body checks.

Shadow and Kaynyx took a seat as the commander turned on the only light in the room, and pulled out a laptop.

"Agent Shadow, Major Kaynyx, there's something you should know..." the commander said gravely. "About Mephiles the Dark."

Shadow and Kaynyx exchanged a quick glance, and nodded at the commander.

"Apparently... we're dealing with a hell of a lot more than we thought we were" the commander said with a heavy sigh. "A hell, HELL of a lot more than we thought..."

Shadow nodded slowly, Kaynyx simply looking mildly confused.

The commander clacked away at his laptop, and pulled out a hand-pad to gain clearance to something. A little device extended from the top and examined the commander's retinas, and then the commander sighed again as he clicked on something.

"When Mauve the Bat hacked into a file during the attack, he luckily didn't bother with the other file... one which we completed only an hour before you returned" he said, nodding at Kaynyx. "The file Mauve recovered forced us to reinforce a position that guards something he wants... We gave them six times as many troops, an agent squad, gave them heavy armor and light-reconnaissance vehicles, turrets, even a few recon fighters. I was going to send you there, Kaynyx, but the mission to destroy the Aero Fortress could prove that unnecessary if you can defeat Mephiles."

"What is that place? And why is Mephiles interested in it... sir?" Shadow asked.

"A large temple built by the ancient civilization" the commander said. "Archeologists we hired said it's only ten years younger than the Gizoid itself, which makes it the oldest ruin of their time we've managed to find so far, and yet it is almost fully intact. We cannot enter it though, so we can only speculate what it is about it Mephiles wants so badly. All I can say is that it must be a weapon that can rival the Gizoid at full power even. But that's not why I called you here..."

Shadow leaned forward a little in his chair, and Kaynyx's ears perked up.

"Mephiles... we've found overwhelming evidence of this..." the commander sounded graver than ever. "Scientists, historians, prophets, popes, everyone we've managed to talk to about it agrees..."

The commander turned the laptop to face Kaynyx and Shadow, and pointed to an icon labeled "DARK ORIGIN AND RELIGIOUS CONNECTIONS."

"Have either of you two read the Bible?" the commander asked.

Shadow and Kaynyx both nodded, though Shadow did so reluctantly, having only read a few chapters here and there.

"Have you read about how Satan was cast out of heaven?" the commander asked, his voice so grave he might have been dead.

Shadow and Kaynyx froze as they started to realize what the commander was getting at.

"The journey from heaven to hell would have been rigorous, to say the least..." the commander went on darkly. "And Satan likely would have had to journey the mortal plain for a time... Maybe not all of him made it to the underworld..."

The commander met the eyes of two of his best men.

"Mephiles is a bit of Satan's essence left on the mortal plain during Satan's descent to hell" the commander concluded.

Shadow and Kaynyx simply stared.

"Sir, do you... do you... HONESTLY..." Shadow stuttered.

"Yes, Agent Shadow, I do believe this" the commander said sternly. "You've seen Mephiles, the demonic shape he takes, his pure hatred for life, his lust for destruction... that's the ultimate evil, something that craves only death and chaos. And Iblis, we know for certain is also an essence of Satan, which is why Mephiles and Iblis are always seeking to reunite... they are one. Together, they create Solaris, which was a figure that represents a stronger, more accurate portrayal of Satan."

Shadow shook his head further. "That... that doesn't seem possible..." he mumbled.

"Well, who'd have thought that anything divine or on that level could co-exist with us flesh-and-blood creatures?" the commander added. "Nevertheless, Agent Shadow, this WOULD explain why normal means of killing Mephiles aren't working."

Shadow merely stared at the laptop, saying nothing.

Finally, Kaynyx spoke. "Then sir, how could we stop him?"

"By either sealing him once and for all, or finding something that can do more than injure or weaken him" the commander replied. "An overwhelming amount of Chaos Energy in either the form of Chaos Control or a Chaos Lance would do the trick for both options, probably."

Shadow finally came to, seeing that Mephiles might not be invincible.

"Then, sir, I propose we start planning a way to chase Mephiles out of his Aero hole" he said darkly.

The commander cracked a smile. "Too right, Agent" he agreed. "We'd best get started soon."


	13. The Aero Fortress

**Chapter Thirteen: Aero Fortress**

The next day, when Tikal awoke, there was no sun shining through the window, which was quite curious... weathermen had predicted a 98 percent chance of cloudless skies.

Tikal, now feeling much rested now and her wounds no longer paining her, she walked over to the window in her room and peered out...

Sure enough, the clouds were thick with deep gray clouds.

Tikal frowned, not liking how this looked...

She believed that, if things went worse than they were supposed to, the day was doomed to a single, very unfortunate event. When the powerful monster Chaos had risen before she'd left, the same thing had applied...

Tikal sighed heavily, fearing ill omens...

G.U.N. Headquarters had already fallen...

What else could possibly be so bad?

Only one thing could be, she concluded... only one person's death would affect her so...

* * *

G.U.N. Command Staff Board Room

* * *

The G.U.N. Commander, Staff General Rick Audi (he was the only other member of the G.U.N. Command Staff who was able to attend this meeting at the time), Kaynyx, Shadow, and Rouge were all in this room now. The plan that would avenge G.U.N.'s greatest defeat yet was now being put into place.

"Now, if we divide our group into three teams and give them each one of these tasks..." Shadow was saying, pacing the room, "...We might be able to blow the place up."

"But we don't know what Mephiles plans for any infiltrators" General Audi said darkly, folding his arms. "If Shade the Echidna and Mauve are on the fortress, they might be able to stop you..."

"With respect, sir, if Omega travels with me and Shadow, it'll be no problem" Rouge said, her legs crossed and propped up on the table. "We've dealt with them and won before."

"Nonetheless, Audi is right to caution Mephiles' measures against intruders" the commander said. "More Havoc bots are likely to be onboard as well, if they are indeed being produced on the Aero Fortress."

"Yes, sir..." Kaynyx said quietly, his chin in hand. "But stealth is of avail to Team Dark, as I've observed in my time with them; if I can move quickly with Tails' help and Amy, I should be able to complete my task as well. And Sonic and Knuckles are an excellent fighting pair; they can hold themselves up. Sir, I'm confident that if we all move quickly, the mission can be accomplished without much difficulty."

"Perhaps, but what if they should encounter Mephiles?" General Audi said again.

Shadow faced him with a smirk. "Then, sir, we'll defeat him or die in the name of all that is good" he said defiantly.

Rouge smiled at Shadow and winked at him.

The commander nodded, and stood up. "Very well. Shadow and Rouge," he said, looking at them directly, "Omega and the others are in the central hall awaiting you. Brief them on your way there."

* * *

Central Hall

* * *

Sonic leaned against the wall, his arm around Amy, who was smiling and had her Piko-Piko hammer leaned against the wall. Knuckles had just arrived with Tikal close behind.

They were silent, the only sound were of Sonic's foot being tapped and Amy's occasional happy sighs as she nuzzled Sonic's shoulder. Tails had passed through earlier but had merely said hi to everyone, high-fived Sonic for good luck, and then left to the command center.

Sonic whistled "Old McDonald" for awhile, but grew bored with it and sighed.

Knuckles folded his arms as well, Tikal standing close to him and resting her head a little on his shoulder.

Finally, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, and Kaynyx entered the hall and everyone turned to look.

Shadow glanced between Sonic and Amy, cast a smirk at Rouge, and said; "Well, let's move! Mephiles isn't going to send us a peace treaty or anything!"

Knuckles grumbled as Sonic shrugged and led an irritated Amy out of the hall.

Shadow faced Rouge, Kaynyx and Omega. "You two go ahead, there's something I need to get" he told them.

"What would that be? Champagne for our victory?" Rouge asked with a smirk.

Shadow chuckled. "No, I'm saving that for our return" he said. "I'm getting something that may be of use to us on this mission, especially if I have to deal with Shade's blades again."

Kaynyx nodded. "Hurry Shadow, the sooner Aero Fortress falls, the sooner Mephiles' threat is lessened upon us."

Shadow nodded in reply and hurried out of the hall.

While everyone else boarded the shuttle, Knuckles lingered awhile, looking at Tikal.

"Knuckles... are you sure you have to go?" she asked quietly.

"They need me... I'll be alright, I'm tough" Knuckles said with a smile.

"B-But Knuckles..." Tikal said even more quietly, and Knuckles had to get closer to hear her. "I just know something awful is going to happen... and I don't want it to happen to you of all people."

Knuckles' eyes widened and his face warmed a little. "Tikal... I'm sorry, they need me... c'mon, I'll be alright!" he said, putting a hand on Tikal's shoulder.

Tikal finally looked Knuckles' eyes, a tear running down her eye, but she was smiling now, all the same.

It occurred to Knuckles that they were alone.

"Well... g-good luck then..." Tikal stammered. "But... just so you'll have something to remember... to keep you going..." and she leaned towards Knuckles' face, her eyes closing as she got closer.

Knuckles' face reddened deeper, but he managed, though trembling, to also move forward and meet Tikal's lips.

The emotion expressed in it was unexpected for both of them.

When it broke, they didn't let go for the longest time... their eyes intent on one another...

Tikal rested her head on Knuckles' chest awhile while Knuckles stroked her dreadlocks.

Finally, with a smile, they parted and Knuckles joined the others at the ship, his morale boosted considerably.

* * *

With Shadow

He went to his drawer, unlocked it, and pulled out the ancient dagger Kaynyx had given him for Shadow and Rouge's wedding.

Shadow admired the fine leather workings of the sheath, and then drew the dagger of the ancient civilization...

The smooth, hard hilt encrusted with dozens of small rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Shadow unsheathed the dagger and admired the curved, golden blade about 14' long with the ancient inscriptions on it.

Shadow admired it awhile longer, then attached a belt and attached the dagger onto it. Then he hurried to the G.U.N. transport shuttle, just now preparing to lift off.

On the ship, he saw Kaynyx putting on a leather combat suit and Rouge strapping a sniper rifle to her back. Omega was filling up on spare ammo, and Amy had acquired a bullet-proof vest under her dress, but Sonic and Knuckles were going without any extra armor or weapon, despite Amy's protesting otherwise.

Shadow grabbed a pistol, two spare clips, and clipped them on his belt also.

Then, the ship shuddered, and took off.

Everyone seated themselves and buckled in just in time. The ship shook a little as it went higher and higher, but were soon going smoothly towards their enemies' lair.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside Central City

* * *

Mauve saw the ship soar out from a place outside the outskirts of the city on his binoculars. Having lost Rouge and Shadow ever since the G.U.N. attack, this was quite a good sign... even more so if the coordinates of the ship's destination were what they thought they were.

Mauve activated his communicator and contacted Mephiles.

"Meph- I-I mean my lord, I have news" Mauve reported.

"It better be good, bat" Mephiles replied, sounding irritated.

Mauve chuckled. "The fools are headed right for the Aero Fortress, sir. They are apparently unaware of the fortress's defenses."

There was silence, and then Mephiles said; "Odd. I'm teleporting you back now, stand by... if they're planning something, we'll need another head on our side."

Mauve rolled his eyes, and soon vanished in a flash of red light to the Aero Fortress.

Just when the dough was already damn sweet...

* * *

With Shadow and company

* * *

Once the ship had stopped shaking, Shadow stood up, and activated a holographic mini-model of the Aero Fortress.

"Alright..." Shadow explained. "Here's the plan; entry point will be here;" a red light flashed on the fortress's landing pad. "From there, we split up. Rouge, Omega and I will be heading to the bridge to commandeer the fortress and drive it toward uninhabited areas and closer to the ground so that when it blows, it won't hurt anybody. Kaynyx and Amy, you'll be heading to the power core and set it for about 45 minutes until it detonates; should be enough time for us all to regroup and get out. Sonic and Knuckles, you're going to head to the hangar bay and stop fighters from launching and either getting help or bombarding us. Then, when we're all done, we meet and make our escape. If we move quietly enough, we might be able to blow Shade, Mauve, that human scientist, and Mephiles while they're sitting on their asses."

Knuckles scoffed. "Yeah, we have to deal with big ships while you guys push buttons. Lucky me!" he said.

Shadow glared at him. "The bridge will be the most heavily guarded, you idiot. Mephiles himself might be up there, and if he isn't, I'll bet there's some Havoc mechs at least."

Knuckles scoffed again, but made no further objection.

"How will Kaynyx and I blow that core-thingy up, anyhow?" Amy asked, shouldering her hammer.

"With this" Kaynyx said, holding up what looked like a very dull Gameboy. "Tails will use it to hack into the core, and set the overload sequence. All we have to do is destroy any enemies in our way and set the timer."

Amy smiled slightly, and cast a wink at Sonic, who chuckled and winked back. Shadow rolled his eyes and Rouge made a gagging sound and pretended to pass out. Kaynyx chuckled at this and even Knuckles smirked slightly.

"Oh, you know what I saw Knucky doing on our way to the ship?" Rouge asked Shadow loudly, making a quick glance at Knuckles. "He was testing to see if echidna's all taste the same on our way here!"

Knuckles, now red with rage and embarrassment, started forward as Shadow and Rouge laughed. But then the ship slowed, and halted.

"We're here now!" the pilot called. "Warp there quick before we get spotted!"

Shadow pulled out his Chaos Emerald, and they all gathered in the center.

"Chaos CONTROL!" Shadow shouted, and they vanished, everything slowed, and then regained normal speed as they opened their eyes to find the carrier ship's surroundings gone.

Now, they were surrounded by towering, titanium turrets, gun towers, machine-turrets, and floating robot patrols that zipped around the turrets, aware only of what was coming towards them from outside the fortress.

They had made it to the enemy's ultimate stronghold and weapons factory, the Aero Fortress.

Sonic sniffed loudly. "Smells like Eggman's been here" he commented with a frown.


	14. Chaos and Havoc

**Chapter Fourteen: Chaos and Havoc**

Shadow hit a button on his wrist-communicator, and another miniature map appeared. A red light appeared in three different places on the map; one on the bridge, one on the core-room, and on the hangar bay.

"Right... well, I've uploaded your destinations onto your wristbands" Shadow said. "Hit the small green button to view the map, and again to turn it off. Okay, let's move!"

Shadow drew his pistol, Rouge readied her sniper rifle, and Omega readied a gun on one arm. Then the three of them hurried off with excellent stealth towards the bridge.

Sonic looked at Knuckles, and shrugged. "Well, let's go!" he said, but Amy tugged on his arm.

"Sonic... wait..." Amy said and kissed Sonic on the cheek. "For good luck."

Sonic blushed a little, but smiled and nodded at Amy, and then took off with Knuckles towards the hangar.

Amy sighed, shouldered her hammer, and faced Kaynyx. "Well, let's go!" she said.

Kaynyx raised a hand for silence, sniffing the air intently.

"Amy, get down!" he growled. Amy had barely comprehended this and ducked her head when Kaynyx swung his fist, and it collided with solid air... until a camouflaged Black Alien materialized and collapsed.

Kaynyx faced Amy, frowning. "Contact the others" he said, already starting to walk off. "Tell them we may have been overheard, and to be on extra-high alert."

Amy was now half-jogging alongside the tall, massive wolf. "You think he heard our destinations?" Amy asked, carrying her hammer in both hands.

"I don't know" Kaynyx replied, now running so that Amy had to practically sprint. "But if he's reported that we're here, we're in trouble..."

* * *

Aero Fortress: The Throne Room

* * *

Mephiles sat on the black marble throne just now, meditating behind his normally-open green eyes, pondering exactly HOW he was going to get that weapon...

The weapon that could change everything, and be the key to rejoining with Iblis...

Mephiles hit a small datapad, and a miniature hologram of a vast, three-story temple arose from it. The temple dated back almost as far back as the Gizoid itself, whose remains whirred under the armor of the two Havocs near him.

Mephiles examined the temple's exterior, knowing that every entrance was guarded by at least three platoons of heavily armed and armored G.U.N. troops, but that wasn't what concerned him...

The problem was, the reason the G.U.N. troops weren't guarding the inside was because the stone doors couldn't be breached, or opened, due to strange technology created by the brilliant, ancient civilization said to be the forerunners of inter-dimensional travel, and according to vague chronicles, the time of this civilization was about the time the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald were first discovered.

Mephiles wondered if there was a reason for that... if perhaps the origin of the Emeralds, the Gizoid, and the weapon he sought were all connected to the ancient civilization's fall...

But what did he care? So long as he had the weapon the people had placed within the temple to be protected, Mephiles' thirst for manipulation over chaos and time would be filled, and Iblis and him would finally be reunited and stronger than ever...

Suddenly, however, Mauve came into the room, interrupting Mephiles' thoughts.

"What is it, bat?" Mephiles snarled. "It better be good news..."

"My lord... Rouge and Shadow... I've lost their coordinates" Mauve said reluctantly, looking ready to leave twice as quickly as he came. "They must have warped away, or gone too far underground for me to detect..."

Before Mephiles could even begin to scream or curse, or growl or attack Mauve, however, Shade came running into the room as well.

"My lord... a patrol found one of our perimeter monitors dead" the echidna said, panting slightly. "We've found no evidence of the intruders, though."

Mephiles looked at Mauve, then at Shade again, then back at Mauve and then Shade again, thinking quickly.

"Mm... Mauve, I think I'll forgive you this time... you and Shade shall scour the fortress for the intruders" Mephiles said. "If its Shadow and Rouge or any of the other Mobians, weaken them and capture them however you like, but do not kill them. I'll send a Havoc mech with you... one who won't fail you."

Mephiles flicked his hand slightly, and the strongest of the Havocs - Zarox (if you recall) -, stepped towards Shade and Mauve.

"The three of you, search the ship and find them, hold them so that I may finish them myself" Mephiles said, and stood up. "I'll rally the other Havocs to me, and then we shall drive the vermin from my castle!"

Shade, Mauve, and Zarox bowed, and they left the throne room.

Mephiles faced the lesser, remaining Havoc mech. "You, put all Black Arms soldiers and Metarex on full alert" he ordered. "Burn their hides!"

The Havoc made a small bow. "Yes, my lord" it said in a monotone, metallic voice. Then it hurried over to a console and furiously typed in commands.

Mephiles, satisfied, went over to his throne and hit a summons button, which locked onto every Havoc in the fortress – fully built or not – and sent it to where the signal emanated.

Mephiles closed his eyes and sighed contently, although is sounded more like a cross between a purr and a snake hissing.

"Now, Shadow... your end has come" he hissed to himself, and chuckled.

* * *

With Team Dark

* * *

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega had so far been able to avoid detection and quickly dispatched a few small Metarex and Black Arms patrols. Omega had nearly been sighted once or twice from his bulk, but he had learned the art of silence well, despite Eggman's barbaric programming.

Shadow now hid behind several stacked weapons crates. Rouge was about thirty yards ahead of him, and fifteen to the right, hidden well and her sniper ready. Shadow kept one pistol out, safety off. Omega was hidden behind a small observation tower, the Metarexs' who ran it now dead by Rouge's rifle.

Shadow peered around the corner, seeing no movement. "Rouge?" he asked over the com. "Any contacts?"

"Negative" Rouge replied. "Wait... yes, a Black Arms Elite and two Metarex... Omega, prepare to move in. I'll take the elite down..."

Omega quietly moved forward, and Shadow edged away from his cover a little.

There was a crack! of a sniper rifle, and the Black Arms Elite fell dead. Before the Metarex could register what had happened, Omega picked them up and smashed them together, knocking them into scrap.

Shadow left his hiding spot and approached Omega. "Good work" Shadow commented, giving the Black Arms Elite a kick in the ribs. Then he whispered into Rouge's link; "You too babe."

Rouge, who was hidden above them by multiple crates, smirked. "Charm me later, big guy" she said. "Hold it... take cover, I think there's more coming..."

Shadow and Omega darted behind some more crates, and took a quick peek beyond them...

Two Havoc mechs had entered the room, taken a quick look at the fallen Metarex and Black Alien, and then left through another door.

Shadow exchanged a puzzled look with Omega, and then jumped out of his cover, his pistol ready...

Nothing moved.

Shadow raised his thumb in a sideways position and jerked it slightly; the all-clear signal. Rouge leapt down from her cover, her sniper rifle showing a little over half-full on ammo. Shadow approached her. "You see those mechs?" he asked. "I wonder why they didn't attack..."

"Probability: they have higher priority than to engage possible intruders" Omega said suddenly. "Perhaps Mephiles needs them for something else."

Shadow frowned. "If Kaynyx was right about us being spotted earlier, then they might be trying to organize a counter-attack for us... if so, we need to hurry" he said.

Rouge leaned against a crate, examining her rifle's settings. "I thought we were already in a hurry?" she asked, loading a fresh clip into it.

"We'll have to hurry some more, then" Shadow said, and they followed him out of the opposite door the Havocs left in.

"Team Sonic, what's your status? Over" Shadow asked over his com-link...

* * *

With Sonic and Knuckles

"Fantastic!" Sonic replied to Shadow, smashing a Metarex guard right in the head. Knuckles, nearby, picked up a Black Alien by the leg, spun it, and let it fly into another one.

"In fact, at this rate, we'll be in the hangar in just a few more minutes! These guys are even weaker than the last time I saw them!"

"Just shut up and hurry along, Sonic" Shadow growled. "The Aero Fortress is on full-alert now, so be careful and disable the hangar and ships quickly so they can't send for help!"

"I hear ya, Shadow, calm down!" Sonic said, rolling his eyes, and then closed the link.

Knuckles quickly destroyed the final Metarex, and then he and Sonic moved on.

After about five minutes, they found a large, wide building that, according to their schematics, was the hangar, which deployed ships from the side of the Aero Fortress.

The hangar only showed one story on the fortress's surface, but under it, three more stories resided, holding over two hundred fighters, four cruisers, six destroyers, and two frigates.

Many power generators, bunkers, weapon caches and weapons factories lay beneath the surface also, along with the Havoc factory, but only Kaynyx and Amy were ordered to go under; the bridge being right in the center of the fortress's surface, most heavily-defended from aerial attacks.

Sonic looked at the tall door that led inside, and he and Knuckles quietly jogged towards it. Knuckles darted over, peered around the walls, and nodded at Sonic, who activated his wrist band.

"You ready bud?" Sonic asked Tails over the link.

"Yeah, just hook it up!" Tails said.

Sonic smiled slightly, and pulled a cord from his wrist band and attached it to the key-pad on the door.

"One second..." Tails said distractedly, as if thinking hard on the code. "Yes... got it!"

The door snapped open, and Sonic and Knuckles carefully tread inside...

What they saw was something like a mine shaft: a large, gaping hole that was dimly lit by the occasional red light in the walls was all that took up the area of the first two stories. Catwalks ran all the way down, patrolled by groups of two or three Black Aliens, and down below, dozens of Metarex guarded and managed the ships.

Sonic peered over the edge of the railing of the catwalk he and Knuckles stood on. "Damn..." Knuckles muttered. "That's not going to be easy..."

"We can't take the catwalks down, and we can't just jump down..." Sonic said slowly. "We'll be up to our necks in trouble before we could seal off the hangar... Tails, can you give us a way down there without being spotted?"

"Working on it..." Tails replied back at G.U.N.'s base.

Knuckles glanced around the room, apparently deep in thought. "What if I soared over to the other wall, stayed in the dark areas, went down and shut off the lights?" he said suddenly.

"That'd be great... if we could see in the dark" Sonic said with a small sigh. "Tails, when we get back, ask the commander to have some drinks ready... this is hurting my head way too damn much..."

* * *

With Kaynyx and Amy

* * *

This team was now four stories under the surface of Aero Fortress. According to their map, the main power core was located near the center, though not quite enough so as to line it up with Mephiles' throne and the bridge. The reason for this was in the case that a powerful enough weapon hit the bridge and destroyed it and the throne room, the core would only suffer slight damage and still be functional.

Kaynyx and Amy were now crawling through an air duct so as to avoid the weapons and mech factories below them. Amy was easily able to crawl through, but as Kaynyx was about as tall as a human and about twice as bulky, he had to take extra care not to bump around too much or get stuck in the tight corners.

They were passing over one air duct, however, when Amy suddenly stopped and peered through it. "Hey, aren't those the robots that attacked G.U.N.?" she asked.

Amy scooted over and turned around so Kaynyx could get nearer the vent and glimpse down. Sure enough, two Havoc mechs stood down there, one of them still missing an arm and some final adjustments to the torso.

"Hmm... I wonder how many they're capable of producing" Kaynyx muttered softly. "Regardless, Amy, we must move on. I'll-" There was a whirring below, and the completed Havoc suddenly darted out of the room.

Kaynyx's normal frown deepened slightly in worry. "I pray they aren't searching for us... even one of those mechs is a worthy opponent" he said quietly.

Amy nodded, not saying anything. "Well, let's go blow that core!" she said in a slightly-louder whisper, and she crawled on.

Kaynyx chuckled, and followed after her.

'_Determined, brave, confident, and a soul that burns with passion... it is no wonder Sonic chose her for a mate' _Kaynyx thought to himself with a bitter smile, knowing he'd probably never get a mate at this rate.

* * *

With Team Dark

* * *

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega were now in a short hallway that led to the bridge of the Aero Fortress.

Rouge had hacked into a wall panel and disabled the few security sensors there, leaving only four Metarex and two Black Aliens to guard the doorway, which Omega quickly gunned down and stomped flat.

Shadow, both of his pistols out, scanned the hallway, Omega and one of his chain-guns standing right next to him, ready to shoot any on comers. Rouge was furiously typing away on a keypad to release the lock on the bridge's door.

Suddenly, the door on the other side slowly started to slip open. Rouge grabbed Shadow and they flew to a darker area on the ceiling. Omega activated a stealth-generator upgraded into him by G.U.N., and stood flat against the wall.

Over a dozen standard Black Arms soldiers with shields and pistols, about twenty elites with rifles, and thirty Metarex with swords all walked down the hallway.

"This many soldiers to secure the bridge... that really necessary?" the lead Metarex with blue armor asked a green companion.

"Yes, you dolt!" the green Metarex said, annoyance apparent in his buzzing tone. "You heard what the echidna said; master suspects that Shadow person and some others are here on the fortress; the bridge has to be defended!"

Shadow, meanwhile, being held in his hiding spot by Rouge's firm grip, allowed himself a smirk at how Mephiles seemed to fear him by putting the place on full alert.

"If Shadow's here, we won't do much more than slow him down" another blue, although of a slightly duller hue, Metarex said.

"Shade said he'd send more soldiers as soon as we reached the bridge" the green Metarex said, rolling its head as one would roll their eyes. "I hope it's those Hammer-bots or whatever he calls 'em. I heard they almost beat a couple of those Mobian creeps during the last major engagement."

"Yeah, I saw one tear up one of our misbehaving giants" a Black Arms elite commented. "The others have stayed in line ever since."

"Yes... still, I think I could personally hold them off a good while" a red Metarex said, being the largest and bulkiest of them and carried a large, multi-edged sword. "I would probably take at least two of them before I-" But the Metarex bumped into Omega's cloaked figure, and stumbled forward onto Omega's feet.

Shadow prayed they'd think it was only the Metarex's own feet he'd stumbled on, but a Black Alien standard troop raised his pistol and aimed in Omega's direction...

But Shadow leapt down, pulled out his pistols, and started firing rapidly.

The Black Aliens all drew their rifles and pistols and returned fire, the standard troops ducking behind their shields.

Omega, however, rose up, seized the red Metarex's sword, and heaved it right through the Metarex's torso, pinning it deep into the ground.

"Insufficient calculations" Omega mocked. "You cannot beat two of us, not even one." Omega then readied a missile gun and a chain gun, and returned fire alongside Shadow.

Rouge heaved a bomb over the Black Aliens, blowing up two of them and forcing them to thin their cover.

Shadow unloaded one gun, and while he reloaded it, he emptied his other gun, managing to kill three elite Black Aliens and one standard. Then Shadow tossed his pistols aside, and drew the ancient dagger, the golden blade reflecting the savage glow of the laser and bullet blasts.

Rouge, meanwhile, went to the key-pad and sealed off the door on the other side of the hall so the sounds would be muffled and no help could come for their foes. Then she flew up, and landed a drop-kick on the lead Metarex.

Shadow warped about the Metarex, the small dagger somehow easily parrying their blows as if it were as large as they were. Then, while dueling the green Metarex, Shadow knocked its sword out of its hand, grabbed its right wrist, and quickly twisted it back, snapping it clean off. The Metarex howled in agony, but Shadow still rammed the dagger into its chest, and then threw the dagger straight into the head of the dull blue Metarex.

Rouge meanwhile, had taken the shield of a dead Black Arms standard, and was throwing it like a Frisbee into the chests of the elite Black Aliens, killing them with her Mobian strength. A Metarex was able to run past Shadow, however, and had its sword poised to slice Rouge in half...

But about eighty-six rounds of double-titanium armor-piercing rounds tore through it as Omega gunned it and the remaining Black Arms down with rapid bursts.

Shadow, facing the remaining Metarex, suddenly slowed time with his Chaos Emerald, leapt in the air, spun around, and sliced through all of the Metarexs' heads in one sweep.

Shadow was walking towards his teammates before the Metarex even hit the ground.

"Nice work, Shad" Rouge said with a wink, and turned to face the keypad again, furiously typing in the access codes.

"Affirmative. We kick ass" Omega said matter-of-factly.

Shadow chuckled a little, and the door to the bridge slid open. Shadow loaded his final clip into one of his pistols, stood firm, and scanned the dimly-lit room...

No movement...

"Omega... switch to heat-sensing vision" Shadow whispered.

Omega's eyes suddenly went from bright red to a dull mauve, and he scanned the room... just some slight heat from the consoles on the bridge, and Shadow and Rouge, but nothing else. "All clear" the mech stated.

Shadow and Rouge lowered their guard, and stepped in...

All the consoles were currently on autopilot, receiving and sending data to the needed locations. The glows they emanated were the only current source of light in the room. Well over a hundred different consoles lined the edge of the room, and one, big console with a screen about as big as a garage door stood before it.

Rouge flew over there first, sat in the main chair, and started clicking away.

"Hmm... the Aero Fortress is en route to Westopolis" Rouge told them, her brow furrowed in concentration. "But I only have one or two codes to bypass before the controls here unlock for-"

Suddenly, three large lights on the ceilings lit up, and Shadow, Rouge, and Omega turned to see Shade the Echidna, having just turned on the room's main power.

"Well, well... if it isn't the sorry excuse for my predecessor, Shadow" Shade said with mock politeness. "_This _time, you won't get out of it so easily..."

"Easily? Please, I kicked your ass" Shadow said, putting away his pistol and drawing his dagger.

Shade laughed. "We'll find out this time" he said. "I have something that shall even the odds..."

Suddenly, the door flew open, and a larger, faster Havoc than the team had seen before hurried up beside Shade, a gun whirring at full-readiness on one hand. The word "Zarox" was printed in blood red across the dark metal chassis.

But then, a window was smashed open, and Mauve the bat entered as well, his extendable katana drawn at full length.

Rouge glared at him and readied into her battle stance while Omega aimed his chain-gun at Zarox.

And to complicate things further, Shadow's com buzzed.

It was Kaynyx, the wolf's end full of static.

"Shadow... near the static encountering he - might be break- up, respond-" and the link went dead.

It had sounded like Kaynyx has exhausted.

Shade smirked, and his claws were extended. "Well... no cavalry from the dog now, Shadow" he said. "You man enough to win one-on-one for once?"

"Done and proven" Shadow replied, and his golden blade collided with Shade's silver claws, sending sparks flying.


	15. The Mission Progresses

**Chapter Fifteen: Plans Progress**

Tails had finally calculated a solution for Sonic and Knuckles to get to the hangar floor.

First, Knuckles had to climb up to a dark area of the ceiling, and remain hidden there and keep a lookout for Sonic, who had to climb to the edge of a catwalk, and jump as quietly as possible to the rail of an uninhabited area of a catwalk. And then slowly keep jumping between them until he was close enough to reach the floor.

Sonic was able to do this alright, but avoiding detection by the guards there was tricky. Sonic was able to zoom to different cover, but more than once a Black Alien or Metarex felt the breeze of the dash, looked around, but decided that it was nothing.

Sonic peered from behind his cover, and resisted the urge to hit one in the back of the head with a nearby rock. "Tails? Where's the hangar controls?" he whispered into the comm.

"Hold on... dang tricky with those dim lights..." Tails muttered in reply. "Wait... okay, about twenty yards behind you, you'll see a glowing panel with touch-screen buttons. Go there and hit the green button, and then hit the larger red icon afterwards to seal-off the hangar bay."

"Alright bud... wish me luck" Sonic whispered, and peered behind his cover; a single Metarex standard soldier stood by the controls, looking semi-attentively around his immediate area. Could Sonic kill it before it sounded the alarm? No other guards were looking his way...

Then, praying his luck would hold, Sonic darted behind the Metarex, snapped its metallic neck, and dragged it behind a console, out of sight... all inside of 2.5 seconds.

Sonic wiped a little trickle of sweat off his muzzle, and then approached the console Tails mentioned. He touched the green button, and the screen shifted shapes and colors, and a new set of buttons and words he couldn't read (out of bad legibility or a strange language, he couldn't tell). Sonic sighted the largest red icon on the screen, and pressed it with vigor (who doesn't like to push the big, red button?).

Then, some lights flashed, and the large slots where the ships launched out of the bay slowly descended to close.

Unfortunately, an alarm went off as well. Not one to sound intruders, but as a warning to clear the doors and stand away from the ships...

That didn't change the fact that every Metarex and Black Arms soldier in the room was now glaring at Sonic, at odds of about 325 to one...

Sonic swallowed a lump in his throat... he'd faced worse odds, but usually had Tails or Amy to back him up, or...

Knuckles flew down in his famous drill-dive, and then used the momentum to punch the ground with titanic strength, knocking about thirty Metarex and twenty five Black Aliens off their feet.

"Red head!" Sonic exclaimed. "Glad you could make the party!"

"Didn't get an invitation..." Knuckles said, blowing a Metarex to bite-sized pieces. "So I decided to crash it." The echidna was grinning the first time since he'd thought Kaynyx had hit Shadow across the face.

He was battling, and kicking ass, just where he should be.

Sonic chuckled, and fought side-by-side his long time ally. It felt good to him, too, to know friends were always there to help him.

* * *

With Kaynyx and Amy

* * *

Kaynyx and Amy were now in the room where the power core of Aero Fortress resided. The core shown a brilliant electric blue in a dazzling metal power generator, the energy running through it glowing a bright aqua/electric blue, glowing upon all the walls of the core room. It alone had the power for two entire cities at full-capacity. Rubber had to line all the catwalk rails to prevent an accidental electrocution. No automated security turrets were allowed in here, either, and the guards had to use melee weapons only, for if a stray bullet or laser hit the core, the entire fortress would be caught in a blossoming explosion in less than ten seconds. A magnetic field had been generated right around the glowing core center to contain every last bit of energy within the field and to keep the guards safe from any energy that might otherwise stray and hit one of them.

Mephiles, Dr. Ovator, and Shade had all realized the importance of keeping this room safe from those who would sabotage it, as Kaynyx and Amy had discovered; no less than six Black Arm giants, thirty standard Black Arm troops with shields stood before them, and eighteen Black Arm elites stood between them and the giants. They all stood on a large platform before the core, which was their only way to it, meaning they'd have to blow their cover, regardless of their needed low-profile.

'_But'_, Kaynyx supposed, '_we'd have to show ourselves eventually to complete all our tasks; no mission is as easy as the plan makes it sound, and the plan was intimidating enough.' _And even after the effective blockade of Black Arms, four large Metarex with swords longer than Kaynyx was tall stood right before the console they needed to link Tails to.

Kaynyx sighed, and glanced at Amy. Kaynyx and her were still in the ventilation system, and the duct through which they saw the core from was right above the door that was usually used to enter the room.

"Amy, I have an idea" Kaynyx said in a low voice. "When we engage them, they will most likely duck behind their shields and overlap them, forming a sort of wall. Then the elites will probably duck behind them and press towards us with their swords. The giants and Metarex will then be sent in to engage us. Do you think you could smash aside those shields with your hammer?"

Amy grinned, and readily gripped her trusted weapon by her side. "Sure thing! I've broken down harder things!" she said.

Kaynyx gave her a small smile. "Well, you go down there and do just that; I'll smash through first and distract them while you move in. Then, once you've downed a few of their shields, I'll charge through and we'll take them out together. Got it?"

Amy nodded enthusiastically, thoughts of Sonic's praise already making their way to the front of her head.

Kaynyx took a deep breath, and knocked the vent duct aside, and the CLANG! it made on impact snapped the Black Aliens and Metarex to full attention; standing before them now was a Mobian wolf of unusual height and girth: about as tall as a human, and three times as wide, practically. The wolf's eyes were a calm, pale blue, but nonetheless seemed a thin veil over wrath and power.

The shock of the wolf's arrival and his appearance was more than enough time for Amy to run in, and swing her hammer with all her Mobian might, and four shields shattered with her swing.

The Black Aliens were beginning to counterattack, and the Metarex were starting to advance with their swords at the ready, when Kaynyx, suddenly reminded of these creatures' merciless, dishonorable ways, and his eyes went dazzling sapphire as the augmentations Gerald gave him triggered his adrenaline to make him near-invulnerable and yet still not in a haze on who his foes and allies were. Kaynyx the Wolf tore into the group of dark aliens, and began to swing his fists like the maces of gods, smiting all they came into contact with. Amy, meanwhile, was slamming aside the Black Arms elites while Kaynyx was routing the standard troops. A Black Arms giant, wielding a hammer roughly three times the size of Amy's, rushed Kaynyx, knocking the wolf down. The other three closed in around Kaynyx as well, one of them wielding a sword, another wielded a hammer like the first giant, and the fourth wielded a new weapon G.U.N. hadn't seen the Black Aliens use; on each had was a sort of glove designed like a club that glowed red-hot, and had four spikes on the knuckle area, each one about an inch and a half long. The alien's hand seemed unharmed from the heat, which could only mean the surface was having laser energy projected over the club to form the heat, and the giant's fist was under many layers of protective, heat-proof mesh, making only the surface of the club-weapon hard.

The Black Arms giant who had knocked Kaynyx down roared in triumph, and swung its hammer at the wolf. Kaynyx stood, braced himself, and actually caught the mallet of the hammer, and, after gritting his teeth and willing forth all his strength, ripped it out of the giant's grasp. Kaynyx slammed the hammer into the giant's head, caving in the skull and sending some brains splattering onto the deck.

The other giants, however, reacted; one swung its sword, the force slashing into Kaynyx's side, but also breaking the sword's blade from his tough, anger-strengthened hide. However, it was wearing off now, giving Kaynyx only slightly greater-than-normal strength and speed.

Kaynyx dodged a hammer blow from another giant, but was then slammed aside by the other with the club-gauntlet. Kaynyx bounced around on the floor, and, wincing, managed to push himself back up. Amy saw his dilemma, but was too caught in battle with the remaining Black Arms elites to help him. The giants advanced on Kaynyx, but the wolf managed to throw the fallen giant's hammer and trip them over for awhile. Kaynyx then ducked behind a power duct, and activated his wrist communicator, hoping the core's power wouldn't interfere with the signal.

"Agent Shadow, we're near the core's control console" Kaynyx said, hoping Amy would hold long enough for him to get back into the fray. "We're encountering heavy resistance. Might be breaking up, but know that we might take awhile. Respond ASAP. Major Kaynyx out." And he closed the link.

Feeling his strength already returning (again, due to the augmentations given by Gerald), Kaynyx let his frustration swell into anger again, and then charged into the severely weakened line of enemies, going first for the giants who had wounded him.

* * *

With Team Dark

* * *

The battle was at something of a stalemate on the bridge of the Aero Fortress...

Shadow had lessened the danger of Shade's blades somewhat by being able to parry them with his dagger, but the echidna seemed more determined than ever to defeat his rival...

Rouge and Mauve, both hating each other a great deal, exchanged many fluid, graceful attacks that yet emanated their passion to kill the other with brutality.

Omega and Zarox, to no one's great surprise, caused the most destruction on the bridge; tossing each other across the room and smashing into consoles, and the many bullets that they exchanged with each other, sometimes narrowly missing their allies.

Shade landed a kick on Shadow and the hedgehog smashed lightly onto another console. Shade dove at him, claws intended to stab Shadow in the chest, but Shadow parried Shade's claws aside with his dagger, and then kicked the echidna in the chest. Shade snarled in fury, backflipped to dodge one of Shadow's Chaos Spears, and then warped behind Shadow and kicked him right across the head.

Shadow shook the dizziness from the blow out of his head, and looked up to see Mauve pinning Rouge up against a wall by her neck and pressing down her legs with his. Shadow was about to aid her, when Rouge suddenly slipped a leg out and kicked Mauve across the room.

Shadow smiled; she'd always had powerful legs, damn her.

But Shadow paid dearly for his momentary view of Rouge's battle; Shade seized him by the throat, and threw him up against a console so hard the screen shattered and cut into Shadow's back. Wincing, Shadow moved out of the way to dodge a blow that would have severed his leg.

Why hadn't Shade just stabbed Shadow right in the chest when he'd had him? Of course, Shadow concluded; Shade was under orders to leave Shadow for Mephiles to finish.

Shadow picked his dagger up, and blocked the blades from both of Shade's hands, forming an "x" on Shadow's dagger. They stood locked like that for a good while, until Shadow managed to roll to the side, and as Shade charged him, Shadow jumped up slightly and spin-kicked Shade right across the face, and then used a Homing Attack to smash the echidna into a console.

Rouge, meanwhile, was having a challenging, yet fun, time of dodging Mauve's multiple knives and throwing stars.

"That the best you got?!" she taunted with a chuckle as Mauve missed her ribs by a mere three inches. Mauve growled, jumped in the air, and aimed a kick at Rouge, who rolled aside to dodge it. But Mauve had anticipated this, and quickly spun around and kicked Rouge in the back, sending her rolling across the floor. Mauve attempted to stab her while she lay there, but Rouge jumped to her feet in time.

"We have to get this thing moving" she muttered under her breath.

Omega smashed Zarox's torso, but the mech quickly regained its feet and rushed Omega, slamming the E-123 robot much harder than it could've calculated from a mech of such smaller girth.

Zarox was faster than Omega, and about as physically strong. Zarox was also able to heat himself to dangerous levels that, when came in contact with Omega, nearly burned his armor, but Zarox seemed totally unharmed. Omega concluded this was the cause of Chaos Energy, and secretly hoped the other Havocs weren't quite like that.

Shadow, meanwhile, had finally managed to knock Shade dizzy awhile by managing to get the echidna into a chokehold and slam his forehead into the wall with great force. Shadow then faced Mauve, who was preparing another series of stabs and slashes at Rouge. Shadow's eyes met Rouge, and it was as if they read each other's minds.

Shadow took his dagger by the tip, and threw it at Mauve, who turned and easily deflected it, and turned back to face Rouge...

Who had vanished.

Mauve quickly looked around him, and too late, spotted Rouge at the main console (one of about three that weren't smashed yet), furiously typing away.

Mauve suddenly remembered that he and Rouge had been in similar reverse positions while he was hacking into G.U.N.'s database on that weapon Mephiles had wanted to know about...

Only there were only about two major codes guarding access to the Aero Fortress's controls.

"No way is that bitch gonna get back at me" Mauve growled to himself, and flew right at Rouge...

"Chaos SPEAR!" Shadow cried, and Mauve was barely able to backpedal in time to dodge the energy.

Those two and a half seconds of delay was all Rouge needed for her to crack the last code, set the fortress for full throttle towards an uninhabited ocean-area, and then leap back at Mauve.

Shade had recovered, however, and was now locked in combat with Shadow again while Omega and Zarox continued to exchange fire.

Shadow linked up with Sonic and Knuckles on the com whilst battling Shade. "Guys, the fortress is moving towards safe ground..." Shadow parried an attack and rolled to the right. "What's your status? Is the hangar secured?"

"Just about..." came Sonic's reply, somewhat tired. "I got the doors and the guards are almost dead here... where we gonna meet?"

"Just... head to the... bridge" Shadow said, dodging a few more slashes. "We'll regroup and set out from here. Then we can get evac. Contact the others and tell them the same; I don't wanna risk intercepting... agh... (here Shadow got nicked slightly) my transmission."

"Okies" Sonic replied solemnly. "Alright Shad, see you in a few!" and the link closed.

* * *

With Kaynyx and Amy

* * *

Kaynyx held the last Metarex up by the throat, the other guards lay strewn, dead or mortally wounded, across the deck. The Metarex Kaynyx held had only one arm and no weapon, and had suffered a hit from both Kaynyx's steel-hard fist and Amy's enormous mallet.

"May the Good Lord have mercy upon your judgment" Kaynyx growled to the Metarex. "Maybe you won't land right next to Satan if he does." With that, the wolf threw the Metarex upon the deck. Amy stood nearby, a little bruised and tired, but otherwise okay.

Kaynyx drew in a deep breath and sighed in relief. Suddenly, the core before them glowed a little brighter for a few seconds, flickered slightly, and then hummed slightly louder. There was a slight groaning around them of the metal, a slight shift to their right, and the room stabilized again.

Kaynyx knew that Shadow and his team had the fortress moving... now, for Kaynyx's part.

The wolf approached the console, and plugged the cord on his wrist communicator to the console.

"Tails, hack in and start the timer for the overload sequence" Kaynyx said rather wearily.

"Alright... one second..." Tails said. The reply was fuzzy, but Kaynyx supposed it was because he was near the core itself, not the interference it emanated on its bordering walls.

Finally, a timer of 45 minutes appeared on both the console, and on Kaynyx's wristband.

"Is it locked so no one can stop the sequence?" Kaynyx asked, he and Amy already headed out of the room.

"Yes, and the hangar has been shut down on all ends, so there's no escape for the guards" Tails replied, sounding a little uncomfortable saying it. Kaynyx understood; trapping foes on a ship that was doomed to explode with no way out seemed torturous, but after G.U.N.'s dishonorable defeat, Kaynyx didn't care half as much as he normally would.

Suddenly, Sonic came in over the comm. "Kaynyx? Shadow says we have to meet him on the bridge" the blue hedgehog said. "You got the core ready to blow?"

"Yes, we still have about 44 and eleven seconds" Kaynyx replied, and he and Amy double-timed it to the bridge.

* * *

With Team Dark

* * *

Shadow kicked Shade down again, and warped behind the echidna to dodge the next attack and then smash Shade down. But Shade quickly regained his feet and slashed Shadow across the back with lightning-quick speed. Shadow growled, and attacked with his dagger vigorously.

Rouge flipped over Mauve's next sword-thrust attack, but the male bat rear-kicked Rouge in the stomach, and then moved in while Rouge was out of breath, hoping to finally finish her...

But Rouge had been trained to fight regardless of limitations, and head-butted the air out Mauve as well, and then kicked him aside.

Omega, however, had more than met his match with Zarox; bullet holes riddled Omega's frame, as did scorch marks of varying areas. Zarox carried similar wounds, but they ran shallower and were harder to find at first.

Finally, however, Omega was able to smash Zarox at full-steam, and then fire a missile, blowing Zarox across the room to smash into the main console, ensuring that their course to safe grounds wouldn't be changed now. Zarox still stood, however, and reengaged Omega, although the damage they both bore was near equal.

Shadow finally managed to get away from Shade long enough to catch his breath, and the two Ultimate Life Forms glared at each other, neither willing to back down before the other.

But then, yet another complication arose.

"Shadow?" Sonic called in, sounding as if trying to keep his voice down. "We got a problem..."

"Great..." Shadow muttered, stealing a glance as Omega fired more unto Zarox from across the room.

"Yeah... there's about two thousand Black Aliens and another thousand Metarex between us and the bridge... heh, we're gonna be awhile" Sonic said quietly.

"What?!" Shadow snapped, and then quickly had to parry aside an attack from Shade.

"Tails is giving us an alternative route... don't worry man, we'll be there soon" Sonic said.

"Yeah, now I feel safe" Shadow muttered, rolling his eyes and closing the link.

Shade, however, wasn't looking at Shadow; he was looking over in Mauve's direction, smirking.

Shadow turned, and to his horror, found Rouge tied in chains, held by the neck by Mauve, who now had a pistol pointed at her. Mauve cast Rouge to the ground and dug the barrel of the gun on Rouge's head, chuckling evilly.

"Pretty-bitch here can't help but let the guys capture her" Mauve said as Rouge cast a hateful glare up at him. "Lucky I caught her."

Shade withdrew his claws, his smirk not there anymore, but he seemed displeased that Mauve had solved the problem of capturing Shadow and the others, and that he had not.

"Surrender yourselves, and the bat goes unharmed" Shade said, not threateningly, but calmly as if trying to compromise.

Omega looked at Rouge, uncertain what to do, then at Mauve, and then at Shadow.

Shadow sighed, drew his dagger, and stuck it in the ground about a foot away from Mauve. Omega activated a pacifist protocol that could only be overridden by Shadow or another G.U.N. Agent. Then Mauve, smirking, bound them both in chains as well.

Shade went over to one of the few unharmed consoles, and locked onto Mephiles' throne. An image of the room, Mephiles, and all the other Havoc bots were gathered there.

"My lord, we've captured Shadow and his allies" Shade said, now sounding a little happy at knowing his master would be pleased. "We await you for their final fate."

Mephiles was silent a moment, and then nodded on the view-screen. "Very well. The Havocs and I will be there shortly, Shade."

Mephiles paused, and then sounded immensely pleased. "You've done well." And the image vanished.

"Sonic..." Shadow muttered, not to the wrist communicator he couldn't reach, but just to the air around him it seemed. "The sooner you get your blue ass here, the better."


	16. Chaos vs Havoc

**Chapter Sixteen: Chaos vs. Havoc**

Sonic was now glancing over a large, metal supply crate at the thousands of enemies mustered between them and the bridge. Kaynyx and Amy were on their way to join Knuckles and him, but it didn't do much to ease Sonic's worries.

Dozens of Black Arms Elites, several intimidating giants, and over thirty dangerous Metarexs that wielded either a large, deadly sword or some sort of large cannon in place of their right arms were among the enemy.

Sonic did not know, but Mephiles was summoning the majority of guards to purposely cut off the bridge to all non-personnel, and had sent in ten other Black Arm elites and fifteen standard Metarex to help contain Team Dark. The remaining guards were split into five large hunting-parties to search for Sonic and the others, while the few remaining dozen continued to run the Aero Fortress at minimal capacity.

Finally, Sonic heaved a sigh, knowing even with his speed and Knuckles's brawn, they'd never get past the blockade; no two people could, except maybe Shadow. "Tails, we could seriously use a hand here..." Sonic whispered into the comm. "Any ideas?"

"An air-strike would be ideal..." Tails said uncertainly. "But as you know, the fortress is capable wiping out the entire G.U.N. air fleet with little to no support from other ships. However... hmm..." Tails was silent.

"What? What do you have in mind?" Sonic asked in a slightly louder tone.

"Well... you could neutralize some of the anti-air turrets from your position and clear a path for me to send a team of G.U.N. fighters to thin them up... can you do that?"

Sonic frowned. "Not very quickly... not quick enough to do that and get to Shadow and his team" he said. "Not even I can smash through a whole sector of guns that quickly..."

Finally, Kaynyx and Amy arrived, both of them looking somewhat worn out. Amy grinned at Sonic and embraced him gently (for once).

"Sonic! Oh gosh, I have so much to tell you!" Amy said. "We were at the core, which was-"

"Later" Kaynyx interrupted, looking a little irritated (traveling with the obsessive girl had taken its toll already). "For now, we have to get to Shadow, Rouge, and the E-123 model. Where are they?"

"On the bridge, about to get eaten alive, probably" Knuckles said. "I say we leave now before the ship blows and leave them; they'll keep Mephiles busy for that long."

"Knuckles!" Kaynyx barked, glowering at the echidna. "They are our brothers in arms, and have done their part; they would rescue us if we were in their position!"

"I dunno..." Amy said uncertainly. "Shadow and Rouge often don't rescue people much... although Shadow did rescue Cream and Cheese from Eggman's castle that one time..."

"And Shadow also helped us that one time on the ARK, remember?" Sonic said. "If it hadn't been for him, Earth wouldn't be around right now..."

"Okay, well, that bat and that robot sure don't help much!" Knuckles said stubbornly. "They'd leave us for dead! Bat-girl only cares about jewels and her darling little Shad-Shad!"

Kaynyx bared his teeth and Knuckles, who stood and met the wolf, purple eyes glaring against blue.

"Guys! C'mon, we should help them out!" Sonic said, standing between them. "We're wasting time anyway bitching about this!"

"Yes..." Kaynyx said lowly, still looking at Knuckles. "Any ideas how we can break past this line of enemies?"

Sonic explained Tails's idea to them. "It would work if we had a little more time..." Sonic said with a sigh.

"Hmm... well, I have an idea..." Kaynyx said. "You, Knuckles and Amy could neutralize the guns, and with three it'll go quicker than with two. I'll charge through the blockade and attempt to free Shadow and his allies."

"Can you do that?" Amy said, again uncertain. "There are an awful lot of them..."

"I'm capable of it, Amy Rose" Kaynyx said, and smiled slightly. "I am Shadow's predecessor, after all. Now go!"

And so, Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy went to clear the path for Tails's air strike, and Kaynyx went to thought about things that really pissed him off...

* * *

On the Bridge, meanwhile

* * *

Shadow had tugged on the uncomfortably tight chains more than once, but even his strength- exceeding even that of the natural Mobians –could not break them. And he could not warp out of them either, not without having to take the time to reorient himself before Mauve shot Rouge. And no help seemed to be on the way, either; Shadow could see the massive blockade of Metarex and Black Aliens from where he was bound.

Some technicians were busy repairing some of the consoles, and no less than two had been assigned to the main console at a time, so that they could reverse course and learn what was going on. And no less than three guards were keeping a constant eye on Shadow, Rouge, and Omega each.

Mephiles would be there in a matter of six to ten minutes now. Shadow could see no way out of it... not unless Mauve slipped suddenly and blew out his own brains. And the said bat constantly gazed over Rouge, smirking devilishly at her and stroking her thigh lightly, making Rouge squirm in discomfort. Shade patrolled the room, his arms alternating between being folded over his chest and being put behind his back. For some reason, he looked uncomfortable and deep in thought, but Shadow didn't care; his enemy's discomfort alone made the hedgehog smirk in satisfaction.

He might not have done so, however, if he'd known what was going through the echidna's mind... Shade knew Mephiles would kill Shadow and the others in revenge, that much was more than obvious. But Shade knew that Mephiles would make it painful, quick, and in a position to where Shadow and the others couldn't resist...

In other words, Mephiles was killing them without honor, something Shade would never do, even to such an enemy as Shadow, who had foiled he and his master's plans so many times; Shade had always had a sort of respect of warriorship to all, even his enemies, and someone who fought with such honor as Shadow had gained, oddly enough, a great deal of Shade's respect. And the reason Shade revered Mephiles so much had little to do with honor, actually...

Mephiles had taken Shade in, given him shelter and hope, had taught him his origin at Gerald's creation of him, supposedly as an afterthought once done with Shadow. Mephiles had given Shade a purpose, made sense of things in a galaxy of confusion, trained him into the deadly weapon he was, opened his eyes to the greed of humanity; money, lust to breed like vermin, the pollution they caused, slowly killing themselves, turning a blind eye to those in need... Shade truly wondered how they managed to establish G.U.N. long enough to protect anything, and wondered further how Mobians, particularly another created by Gerald, could willingly defend these scum. So Mephiles had told Shade that the Mobians who sided with the humans were dead-on traitors, and deserved no more mercy.

Still, Shade had seen his master's work, and didn't agree with it all; enslaving human scientists and whipping them to the bone despite their best efforts, hiring scum like Mauve who fought with no honor, and fighting primarily for victory...

Every day in Mephiles' service, Shade became ever more doubtful...

So Shade walked over to Shadow, kneeled down, and muttered in a low voice out of Mauve's eyeshot.

"Shadow... why do you not simply warp out of here? To safety? You can live and fight another day against us, do not be a fool" he muttered.

Shadow shot Shade a terrible glare. "I'll leave Rouge and Omega behind when hell freezes over" he growled, and looked away.

"Shadow, why do you care for them? How could love possibly blind you so? Leave them, live on! Mephiles will kill you otherwise-"

"And I will gladly die alongside her!" Shadow hissed. "You and Mephiles don't understand what the heart is capable of; you're only concerned with elemental and physical powers, its pathetic... Mephiles can stab me all he likes, but he can't change the fact that I'm in love with Rouge. Leaving her behind while I live would be far worse than anything your master is capable of."

"And you would let that bind you to death?" Shade asked, more in wonder than mockery. "Either you're a grave fool, Shadow... or there is greater truth to your words than you let be known..."

"Shut up over there!" Mauve shouted, aiming his pistol at Shadow's forehead. "Mephiles wants you alive, but he probably won't mind me blowing off your ears first..."

"No! They are to be preserved for Mephiles!" Shade growled...

But the argument came to an abrupt end, as hoarse yelling and screaming came from outside. Two Black Aliens went to check it out, and their eyes widened.

"Sirs! The wolf, he's breaking past the barricade and heading straight for us!" one said.

"What?!" Mauve shouted. "Damn it all... guards, ready weapon-"

But the bat never finished his sentence, as the door suddenly flew open and smashed the two Black Arms soldiers aside. A second later, a large, gray fist collided with Mauve's face, sending the bat sprawling.

All the guards snapped to, but before they could open up on Kaynyx, Shadow warped out of his chains, grabbed his knife, and cut Rouge and Omega free.

Shade extended his blades, and the guards hurried forward to try and contain them.

Elsewhere, roughly five minutes ago...

Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles located a broad section of about fifteen heavy-duty anti-air guns, and dozens of smaller automatic thick armor-piercing guns intended for smaller fighter craft. Sonic whistled at the apparent size of the guns, and shook his head.

"Damn... this little section alone could gut a G.U.N. destroyer" he commented.

"Yeah... so, how do we disable them?" Knuckles asked. "Should we... y'know, just start smashing stuff?"

"Sounds good to me!" Amy said, heaved her hammer up, and swung it with all her might at one of the smaller chain-guns, and it went flying past the Aero Fortress's boundaries. Then Knuckles, grinning maliciously, charged at one of the bigger guns and started smashing holes and ripping out wires.

Sonic, however, thought it was going too slowly as he landed a dozen quick Homing Attacks to a larger gun, only denting it. Sonic punched a few other areas on the gun, wondering if there was a certain weak spot, like what Eggman's robots usually had. A lightly-armored control bridge, an unstable power source, there was always something to even the odds...

Then, Sonic saw a panel, almost ground-level on the gun. Sonic ripped it open, and punched the glowing buttons, gears, and other mechanical devices within. The gun he'd just punched suddenly whirred really loudly, and then slowly whirred down, and the turret drooped slightly. Sonic laughed suddenly. "Guys! Take off the panels and hit them there!" he said, already running to another turret, grinning.

Knuckles nodded, headed to another large turret, ripped off the panel, and so the three of them went about their work.

* * *

Back on the bridge

* * *

Rouge had managed to get to a computer and seal off the doors so the survivors of the blockade couldn't get in (still being a very large number), but not before about two dozen of them came in, turning the bridge into a deadly battleground as she, Shadow, Omega, and Kaynyx fought for their lives.

Shade didn't take part in it; he only commanded Zarox, Mauve, and the Black Arms and Metarex while occasionally deflecting a stray laser or bullet with his claws. Mauve and Zarox were locked in deadly combat with Rouge and Omega again, leaving Shadow and Kaynyx to deal with all the troops without accidentally hurting their allies (which meant no Chaos Blasts). And as Shadow was totally out of ammunition for his pistols, he was relying solely on his dagger, the rare opportunity for Chaos Spears, his martial arts and Homing Attacks, warping via Chaos Control around his opponents, and the occasional cover from Kaynyx.

The two fought alongside each other very well, reminding Shadow oddly of how he and Rouge fought side-by-side; there was a kinship in the fighting, and it seemed like Kaynyx thought at the same pace, knew the same dangers...

At that moment, upon the Aero Fortress, surrounded by enemies, Kaynyx the Wolf and Shadow the Hedgehog were brothers.

Shadow was also careful to keep an eye on Rouge, in case Mauve attempted to capture her again. But it seemed she was quite intent on not letting that happen again, as Mauve was practically dodging and cursing most of the time.

Shadow then rolled under a tall Black Arms Elite, tripped the alien down, and then sprang to his feet, and rammed his dagger straight into the alien's chest. Kaynyx, meanwhile, had ripped off a Metarex's right arm (which had blades attached to it), and was using it as a club against the Metarex's brethren.

Shadow, Rouge and Omega had no idea where Sonic and the others were or what they were doing, but obviously couldn't discuss it right now. Shadow just prayed that is was useful...

"Shadow, its Tails, do you read me? Over." The young fox's voice sprang suddenly on Shadow's comm., and the hedgehog snarled at the interruption.

"What is it?!" he growled, jumping over a Black Alien's sword attack and then knocking it down with a Homing Attack.

"Sonic, Knuckles and Amy cleared out a section of guns. The commander's sending in an air strike to neutralize the blockade, so brace for impact!"

Shadow's eyes widened. "Kaynyx! Brace Omega down!" he shouted.

Kaynyx nodded, and then suddenly ran at Zarox. "Down scum!" he shouted, kicked the Havoc down, and then tackled Omega down behind the main console (which was damaged, but the only operational console remaining on the bridge).

Shadow spotted Rouge kicking Mauve once in the torso, nodded at her, and they ducked in unison behind the main console with Kaynyx and Omega. Shadow glanced a peek upwards...

What happened next was phenomenal; suddenly, four G.U.N. contraband fighters and a bomber slowly came into clear view, and slowly approached the now-disabled guns. A Black Arms elite shouted some orders, and everyone with a rifle began to fire upon the ships. Two giants wielded heavy laser-weaponry, and aimed a little more carefully. The fighters fired two missiles each upon the horde or aliens and Metarex, easily blowing away two dozen troops with each explosion. Then they opened up their machine guns, and tore down the Black Arm giants and a few Metarex. Then they broke, and the bomber began its bombardment. Each explosion had about 1/100th of the power of a nuclear bomb, so two were sufficient to finish off the horde, and blow off a small fragment of the bridge, which wiped out everyone except Team Dark, Kaynyx, Shade, Mauve, Zarox, and a single Metarex.

Ironically, the main console still held, the only damage from the bombing being a single shard of shrapnel stuck in one of the screens.

Shadow slowly eased out of his cover, and looked around...

"Holy shit..." he muttered. "We should call those in more often-"

But suddenly, a knife passed right next to his ear, and would have hit Shadow straight in the head had Rouge not yanked him out of the way.

"Way to be the professional agent, dipshit" she teased.

Shadow huffed, and redrew his dagger.

"Come on out, vermin!" Mauve taunted from across the room. "I won't hurt you... nah, that's the boss's job!"

But just as Mauve taunted some of the most dangerous foes he could possibly have, a blue blur suddenly slammed into him, and sent him sprawling across the bridge. Zarox rushed in to see what was going on, but Knuckles leapt through a shattered window, and slammed his fist dead-home on the Havoc's torso, and then Amy arrived and smashed Zarox with her hammer, which made it fly and impale itself on Omega's readied drill-pike.

"Despite science's best efforts to improve, I am still the top mech, it appears" he said, his monotone voice seeming to raise slightly in amusement.

Shadow looked up again, and saw Mauve surrounded by Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy.

"C'mon dude, just put your sword-thingy down, and we'll call it a draw" Sonic said with a yawn, indicating Mauve's drawn katana.

"Yeah, you couldn't even beat one of us!" Knuckles said, slamming his fists together to show off.

Mauve just snorted, and suddenly leapt in the air, and did a spin-kick, knocking them all down. The bat laughed as he placed his boot firmly on Sonic's chest.

"I didn't earn my title as the best mercenary for nothing, dumb-ass!" he chortled, and readied his katana for the final blow.

"MOTHERLESS CUR!" a voice bellowed, and Kaynyx suddenly smashed into Mauve, his pale eyes flickering dangerously, but not yet glittering sapphire.

Mauve spat out a tooth, and faced Kaynyx with a hateful glare. "Hmph. Who let the dogs out?" he scoffed.

Kaynyx ran at Mauve, and started swinging his fists wildly. But Mauve merely laughed, sidestepped all the blows, and landed a powerful jump-kick to Kaynyx's torso, knocking the wolf on his backside. Kaynyx's eyes glowed now, his skin toughened to steel-toughness, and he charged forward.

Mauve just laughed again. "Fetch, doggy!" he mocked, and heaved a bomb straight at the wolf.

The explosion sent Kaynyx flying, but his skin saved him from being blown apart.

"Kaynyx!!" Shadow shouted, and started forward, but Mauve drew his katana and aimed it at Kaynyx's slumped, wounded and smoldering form.

"One move, and canine here gets skin-" Mauve started, but Kaynyx had risen to his feet, and seized Mauve by the torso and legs, and let lose a blood-curdling roar. Then, with a sickening crunch, Kaynyx crushed Mauve's wings with his fist, and heaved the bat like a football out the window, the screams slowly dying away in the wind.

Shadow's eyes were wide open, and stared at Kaynyx in half admiration, and half shock. Knuckles looked plain dumbfounded, his jaw gone slack, and Sonic and Amy's mouths hung open, and they slowly shared a glance.

Rouge was laughing.

"Oh, God!! Haha, I hope he knows how to swim with broken wings!" she chortled. "We're right above the ocean! He's screwed!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!"

Kaynyx cleared his throat, winced as he yanked some shrapnel out of his left pectoral, and glanced at the timer for which the core would overload.

"Everyone, we only have about twenty five minutes to get out of here!" he said.

Shadow nodded. "Very well. Come, let's head away from the bridge and the center of the fortress, so that the core's energy doesn't interfere with the Chaos energy" he said.

They were all turning to leave out of the left door, when they realized Shade was just standing there, watching them with his claws drawn. Shadow was about to engage him in combat again, when Shade's head drooped and he withdrew his claws.

"I'll not be one to condemn you to a death of dishonor" he said. "Leave, and perhaps you can escape my master, or if you don't, you will at least die honorably. I'll not be one to stain my hands with the blood of the helpless."

Shadow stared at him, but then sheathed his dagger and nodded. "That should get you a better room in hell" he muttered. "Thanks, though. Let's move!" he shouted, and he and the other Mobians all left the door.

Shade, meanwhile, went to the main console, and contacted all the remaining guards manning some of the larger turrets, and the ones in hunting teams.

"All personnel, evacuate to the hangar, and prepare for liftoff! Dr. Ovator, head there and try and unseal the doors!" he shouted.

Back with Shadow

Shadow knew they still had plenty of time to get away, and therefore knew he had a good chance to put as much distance between him and the core as possible before warping. The core's powerful energy might've interfered with Chaos Control in many ways; holding back the snap of energy that sent them away, drawing upon it and slowing the process and maybe leaving parts of themselves behind, or even trapping them in a loop between time and dimensions, never to truly live, die, or breathe ever again.

So, after explaining this in full detail, no one complained as they ran along, Sonic occasionally riding down some handrails on the stairs they were forced to tread.

But Shadow then suddenly wished he'd taken a little more risk...

Now, standing about ten yards in front of him, was Mephiles and seven other Havocs. The dark being chuckled menacingly.

"Well, well, it seems the vermin upon my fortress have sprung the metal that snaps their necks!" he growled, and dark ooze ran down his shoulder, down his arm, and formed a stone-like blade that stuck out about 13' past his hand.

"Mephiles! Of all the damned fortunes... why don't you give it a rest and give up already?!" Shadow growled, drawing his dagger out.

Mephiles chuckled. "Because, Shadow the Hedgehog, you're the only one who's been able to put chinks and delays in my ultimate victory, and that I cannot allow" he said.

"Hmph! Those things don't look so tough! What do they do, stare at us to death?!" Knuckles scoffed, stepping forward...

But a Havoc leapt into action, and fired an orb of energy that exploded and smashed Knuckles into a wall.

Mephiles laughed again. "I assure you Shadow, this time, not all of us shall leave here alive!" he said, and he and the Havocs surged forward.

"FOR MARIA!!" Shadow bellowed, and he and the others met them head-on.


	17. Hour of Flames

**Chapter Seventeen: Hour of Flames**

While everyone else tackled a Havoc (Kaynyx fought two at the same time), Shadow engaged Mephiles. While the Havocs fired their weapons all about, and using their precise computers to lock onto their foes and move with speed that impressed even Sonic, and strength and never-failing energy from their copied-Chaos Emeralds, the real battle was fought by the Ultimate Life Form, and his dark mockery.

Shadow and Mephiles faced one another, circling each other, never letting the other out of his sight. Shadow's dagger was inches away from touching one of Mephiles' blades.

"Honestly, hedgehog..." Mephiles scoffed. "How many times must we do this before you learn that I cannot be defeated? It is hopeless!"

Shadow scoffed in turn. "As many times as I can live through" he replied.

"Hmm. Your nobility is wasted on a lost cause, you fool!" Mephiles replied.

"Those are the only kind worth fighting for" Shadow hissed in reply. "Something you constantly fail to see is what the heart is capable of... although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised now that I know who and what you are, Mephiles..."

Mephiles' green eyes widened in shock for less than a full moment. "So, you know, do you?" he asked. "Well, it only goes to show your foolishness even more s-" Mephiles finally saw Shadow's dagger. His gaze lingered on the golden, smooth, curved blade and its engravings. Then it went to the jeweled hilt, and Mephiles' eyes widened again.

"Where did you get that?!" he snarled at Shadow. "How did you learn of it?!"

Shadow smirked at his displeasure. "Kaynyx gave it to me... as a gift for mine and Rouge's wedding" he said with a mockingly even tone. "I'm guessing it's more than just a tough, interesting weapon the ancient people created?"

But to Shadow's displeasure, Mephiles laughed at that. "You mean you don't know what that thing is capable of?!" he said in disbelief. "Then I need not worry; for now, it is only a means for you to deflect things."

Shadow glared at Mephiles and bared his teeth. "I'm so sick of your monologue!" he growled, and slashed at Mephiles faster than the eye could follow, but Mephiles suddenly melted into a puddle at Shadow's feet, and the dagger cut through only air. The dark puddle of ooze suddenly slithered behind Shadow, and he reformed behind the hedgehog, and slashed Shadow in the back. Total time elapsed: 1.1 seconds.

Shadow cried out and fell down, but quickly shoved the pain out of his mind and readied himself to attack again. Mephiles attacked with speed greater than even Sonic's, but Shadow had been trained to fight against speedier opponents, and suddenly rushed forward and met Mephiles with a flurry of slashes, punches, and kicks.

Mephiles seemed to float everywhere, and he fired large bursts of energy to knock Shadow aside and slam him into something, but Shadow eventually grew ready for this, and when he went flying right at a large stationary crane, he planted his feet against it, and shot himself at Mephiles in a Homing Attack, knocking the dark creature back about a dozen yards. Then Shadow followed up with a Chaos Spear. But Mephiles growled, avoided the deadly energy, and reengaged his most hated enemy.

The others, meanwhile, weren't faring well, or were at stalemates at best. As none of them had faced a Havoc one-on-one before and won without assistance, they were in something of a confusion. And Kaynyx, who fought two, was hard-pressed...

At least, for awhile.

The Havocs zoomed around Kaynyx like bees on some sort of illegal enhancement drug, but Kaynyx found this irritation enough to trigger his strength-enhancement power. He deflected the missiles they fired at him, shrugged off their Chaos-attacks, and charged right at one. Using the momentum of his speed, Kaynyx ran his fist right through the Havoc's torso, and lifted it up. But it still remained active, and slammed its fist into Kaynyx's jaw. However, this only made the wolf angrier, and it ripped off the Havoc's legs, and threw the torso aside. The remaining Havoc hesitated a second, and then rapidly backpedaled away from Kaynyx, firing a chain-gun as it went.

Amy, meanwhile, had neither particular strength or speed enough to match the Havoc. So she used her head; instead of meeting the Havoc dead-on, she either dodged the bullets, or deflected the other attacks with her hammer. Eventually, the Havoc would draw with swinging range, and Amy landed a few lucky hits, but otherwise wasn't getting anywhere; the robot was simply too fast.

Knuckles was determined to avenge his earlier humiliation at being blown aside, and threw nearby crates and attacked the Havoc in any attempt to get at the mechanical son of a bitch.

Soaring and latching onto a crane to dodge a missile, Knuckles glared at the Havoc in pure hatred. "THAT THE BEST YOU GOT?!" he yelled, and then dove at the Havoc at full-speed. But the mech backflipped and landed on a large crate, and fired orbs of Chaos energy at the echidna.

Knuckles growled to himself, and suddenly dove for cover behind another crate. The Havoc decided to merely keep firing at the area Knuckles had disappeared, and keep the echidna pinned down...

But then, the crate lifted, and suddenly about 2.5 tons of metal came soaring at the Havoc. If it had lips, it would've scoffed, and it merely dashed about ten meters to the left...

Where Knuckles met it and punched it right in the head. The echidna laughed, and engaged the Havoc in hand-to-hand combat... which proved to be difficult. But Knuckles didn't care; this was how he preferred to fight.

Sonic, meanwhile, was the only one who had much of a speed advantage over his Havoc. Zipping around it wasn't an option, though, as the Havoc was able to lock onto even Sonic's faster-than-the-eye speed and target the blue hedgehog very precisely. Sonic had to roll behind crates and do gymnastics in midair from time to time to dodge them all. Finally, Sonic smashed into a crate while rolled up, and then zoomed right at the Havoc while the crate was still flying, and punched the mech as hard as he could, sending it flying right through the crate.

Sonic laughed and slapped his knees as the Havoc crashed to the ground, shaking its head to get reoriented.

"HAH!! Bet you can't top that!!" Sonic mocked, gesturing with his middle finger at the robot. But the mech quickly rose itself to its feet, and then in a flash of Chaos Energy, appeared right behind Sonic, and smashed the hedgehog right upside the head.

Rouge, meanwhile, was locked in a frustrating stalemate with her Havoc mech. Always twisting their bodies in near-impossible positions, kicking and punching fanatically. Rouge ducked under the Havoc, and tripped it over, and while the mech was still falling, Rouge kicked it in the back of its head, sending it head-over-heels into another crate.

Omega, meanwhile, was finding his Havoc mech not too hard to deal with after facing Zarox, but the lesser mech was still putting up a tough fight.

Shadow, however, was by far having the worst of it. Mephiles had grown much more powerful than when the hedgehog had defeated him atop that mountain almost a year ago. Mephiles fired bursts of forceful energy, beams that absorbed the life and energy out of things, ropes of dark, fiery tongs sprouted from his fingers, and Mephiles could now shoot the blades on his arms like darts. Shadow was slowly being worn down by Mephiles' barrage, being whipped and smashed around constantly, Shadow only able to land an occasional Chaos Spear or Homing Attack on the dark demon. And as Mephiles backed away to prepare another volley of blades, Shadow readied his dagger, and deflected them all. But then Mephiles soared right at him, and smashed Shadow aside with strength unnaturally great even by Mobian standards, knocking the jet-black hedgehog down in a slump. Shadow growled to himself, cursing Mephiles' advantages, hating himself for letting the scumbag harm him. Shadow wiped some blood off of his lip, and glared right into Mephiles' merciless, chaotic green eyes. The evil being laughed.

"What, Shadow?" he taunted. "Finally realizing your folly in coming here? Realizing that you should have joined me when I offered you the chance?"

Shadow scoffed. "No, fool..." he said. "I'm simply deciding best how to checkmate your king in an alternative manner..."

Mephiles laughed again. "This is not chess, you dolt!" he said as if Shadow had regressed to an annoying, impatient child. "This is a matter in which you can't just put up the pieces and play later; no, somebody _shall _die this day, I promise you! Hopefully, you'll be gone with that precious little bat of yours into oblivion!"

Shadow smirked darkly, and met Mephiles' eyes again. "Just try..." he said, and lunged at Mephiles, his dagger slashing into Mephiles' side.

The dark being cried out, snarled in frustration, and struck Shadow across the head, sending Shadow tumbling towards the railing. Shaking off the stars forming around his head, Shadow glanced behind him and the railing...

And found himself peering miles below at the sea.

Looking up, he saw a small, partially green island approaching, probably no bigger than fifty miles in circumference, although it was merely a dot for now, and didn't seem to be getting closer, even though Rouge had forced the Aero Fortress to flank speed away from civilization on the bridge (which was, Shadow now reflected, about a mere 200 mph.). Shadow did realize, though, that they could escape to that island once they had the chance.

But this distraction cost Shadow dearly; Mephiles had extended his arm via stretching it with ooze, and seized Shadow by the chest, and flung him into a crate, sending an explosion of pain through Shadow's back.

The hedgehog forced himself to stand as Sonic, Rouge, and the others nearby battled the Havoc mechs. Shadow glared at Mephiles, but couldn't help wondering why Mephiles hadn't merely flung him overboard... not that he was complaining, but that's what Shadow would have done.

Of course, Shadow thought with a roll of his eyes; Mephiles wanted to kill him slowly, personally, look into the hedgehog's eyes as the life drained out of them and all that other sick villain shit. Well, he was going to be disappointed when Shadow walked away from this doomed fortress with his new wife in tow, headed toward their honeymoon. Oh yes indeed, Mephiles would be bawling like a baby when Shadow was through with him...

As Mephiles and Shadow reengaged each other, Kaynyx finally managed to land a crippling blow to the second Havoc's neural system, slowing its targeting system slightly and making its aim less than 100 accurate. Finally, Kaynyx managed to seize a smaller crate, and heave it at the Havoc. The mech easily dodged it, however, and drew its gun at Kaynyx. But the wolf only smiled. Momentarily puzzled, the Havoc activated its rear-visor...

And saw the crate coming right back at him, attached to a tall crane. The crane swung, and hit the Havoc head on and at full momentum, and as it came forward, Kaynyx's steel-hard fist met it, crushing the Havoc's head, and eliminating the wolf's opponents.

Sonic, meanwhile, was circling his opponent, now feeling somewhat tired... he wanted to take this foe out, but he also wanted to prove his superior speed while doing so. How to do both with your life on the line? Sonic was still thinking it through...

Slowing edging closer and closer to a crane – similar to the one Kaynyx had used to destroy his enemy - Sonic now simply stood there. The Havoc eyed him, and drew its blade, intending to leap forward and skewer the hedgehog. And as it leapt into the air...

Sonic dived to the right at full speed, turned around, and smashed the crane so hard it went flying and stuck itself into the Havoc's torso, making its systems go momentarily haywire. Then, for good measure, Sonic climbed up onto the crane, and shoved it out over the edge, and intended to cut the rope...

But the Havoc's emergency systems kicked in, and it fired its gun at Sonic, who barely moved out of the way in time, but still got nicked on the shoulder.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore the pain. _That's what Shadow would say, anyway..._ he thought morbidly, dodging another load of bullets. But then, Sonic leapt down as the mech fired another round, keeping close to the twine...

Which didn't stand a chance against the reinforced-titanium-piercing rounds of the Havoc, and the mech ironically fell to his own self-inflicted doom, despite the people's best efforts in the control room.

Knuckles, meanwhile, was trying to get nearer his Havoc, which wasn't easy as the mech was blasting many missiles and orbs of explosive energy at the echidna. But stubbornly determined, and knowing how impressed Tikal would be when he told her the story when they got back, Knuckles pressed on, jumping over the missiles and rolling aside, and he finally managed to leap onto the Havoc, and get it into an arm lock. Nevertheless, the Havoc kept firing, hoping to nick Knuckles and get him off. The missiles went far, and started to interfere with the others' battles. Rouge barely backflipped in time to avoid being dissolved by Chaos Energy while her Havoc had dropped flat on the ground to avoid a missile that came at almost the same time.

But then, everyone stopped to notice the cans of explosive fuel on this deck.

"Oh shit!" Rouge muttered. "Knuckles, WATCH THAT ROBOT'S AIM!!"

"Huh?!" Knuckles had time to say before a missile streaked towards a particularly large pile of the canisters. "Oh fuckberries..."

When the missile hit, it sent ripples through the deck all around them, and the floor began to collapse beneath them as explosions tore all around them, and even deeper into the fortress. They all fell through with the rubble, falling a whole story deeper into what used to be the Havoc factory.

Huge metal beams and explosive fuel rained down, blowing up and collapsing half the factory, destroying most operational systems. And nobody landed gracefully, except Rouge and her Havoc, who immediately resumed combat as the flames surrounded them and the others as if there had been no explosion.

Knuckles, still locked in combat with his Havoc, landed on top of the mech, and then they rolled to their feet and resumed battle as well. Sonic, Amy, Omega and Kaynyx landed with a loud _Thud!_ each, along with their Havocs.

But Shadow had been wounded the worst during the explosion; a large piece of rubble had knocked him off his feet and he had fallen down here, and landed on his side. So dazed he didn't know which bones were broken and which weren't, Shadow tried to stand again.

But several streams of dark ooze rained down from above, and formed themselves together, and took the shape and texture of Mephiles, completely unharmed and calm.

He looked upon Shadow's tired and wounded form with something close to pity, and reformed the stone blade upon his arm.

"Goodbye, old foe" he muttered, and intended to jab Shadow right through the heart...

"AGENT SHADOW!!" a voice bellowed, and a large, gray missile suddenly smashed into Mephiles, sending him flying twenty feet.

"GAH!!" Mephiles cursed, his green eyes glowing with hatred at Kaynyx.

"Demon scum... maggot fodder!!" Kaynyx growled. "You shall pay for your dishonorable ways, for your sins, and for harming my brother-in-arms!!" Kaynyx threw a mighty punch, but Mephiles dodged it, and kicked Kaynyx in the stomach, knocking the wolf down. But Kaynyx let his frustration grow stronger and stir with his hatred for Mephiles, and he grew powerful again, and ran at Mephiles with amazing speed. Then Kaynyx lifted the evil being up, and threw him across the room, smashing through debris as Mephiles cried out from the blows, and finally landing right next to the fiery pit where the canisters had fallen.

Gazing into it, Mephiles was suddenly reminded of the Flames of Disaster... the closest thing he had to a brother...

But Kaynyx was already upon him again, and Mephiles stood up to meet the wolf.

Sonic, meanwhile, was helping Amy defeat her Havoc, and Omega was helping Rouge. Sonic zipped around the Havoc, distracting it with lightning-quick blows, and Amy delivered a powerful hit, over and over to the Havoc's head. Finally, Amy hit the Havoc's torso and sent it flying, and Sonic met it at the other end with such a powerful Homing Attack, he tore right through it.

Landing on the ground, he grinned at Amy, who hugged him to show her pleasure at their victory. Sonic chuckled and returned the loving embrace.

Rouge and Omega still attacked at their Havoc with renewed vigor after seeing Sonic and Amy take down another one.

"Why... won't... it... die?!" Rouge growled, dodging a bullet and kicking the Havoc in the visor. Omega ducked behind a steel beam and fired his chain gun while Rouge tried to flank the mech.

Kaynyx and Mephiles were engaged in a melee, meanwhile, but not even Mephiles' alien blades could penetrate Kaynyx's enhanced flesh. Finally, with a great roar, Kaynyx slammed his arms down on Mephiles like a mace, and the dark being finally fell with a cry into the flames below. There was a dull _Thunk!_, and then Mephiles did not rise from the flames.

Sighing in satisfaction, Kaynyx returned to the others.

Rouge and Omega were now attacking the Havoc in angry determination, hoping to defeat theirs' before Knuckles. Finally, Rouge heaved her heel into the Havoc's visor, and yanked it out. Before the mech could reorient itself, Omega drew a large, sharp drill on one arm, and heaved it into the hole Rouge had made, and tore the Havoc in half. Rouge smirked, nodded at Omega, and took a deep breath...

But then glanced at the timer: they only had eleven and a half minutes before the core overloaded and obliterated the Aero Fortress.

"Guys... can we hurry this up?!" she yelled. Suddenly noticing Shadow, however, Rouge hurried over to him and checked on his wounds.

Shadow finally stirred at her touch. "Mm... Rouge... I'm fine, leave them alone..." he muttered.

"Just shut up" Rouge said exasperatedly, inspecting Shadow's side. "Hmm... one of your left ribs cracked, but just barely; it'll hold until we get out of here. In the meantime..." Rouge pulled out some antiseptic, put some on Shadow's Mephiles-induces scars, and then wrapped the deeper ones with bandages.

"I can't believe you actually take that with you" Shadow said, but with a smirk.

"Well, after you get hurled through a window, barely alive, it doesn't hurt to be ready, does it?" Rouge said with a small chuckle.

Shadow smiled and shook his head.

Knuckles, at about the time Rouge defeated her Havoc, was still circling his. Glaring into its visor, they both waited for the other to make a move.

Knuckles growled lowly. "Bring it" he said, anticipating another melee...

But then, a big gray fist tore through the Havoc's torso, and ripped apart its circuits.

"Kaynyx!" Knuckles said, angst upon his face. "You took my kill!"

"I didn't see your name on it" Kaynyx replied with a laugh. "Rest assured, I won't interfere next time."

Knuckles just grumbled.

"Uh, guys? We only have about nine minutes to get out of here!" Rouge said suddenly.

"Let's go above ground; I can't focus much energy with all this smoke" Shadow suggested, and they all hurried towards a pile of rubble that led to the remains of the above deck...

But suddenly, a dark, smoldering figure leapt out of the flames, and landed before them all, cackling menacingly.

"This... is the END, SHADOW!!" Mephiles the Dark laughed almost manically. "You shall never leave this place... not with your souls and consciousnesses intact!"

Kaynyx growled again, and summoned what rage he had left to toughen his skin and enhance his speed and strength slightly.

"This worm is mine!" he snarled, and ran right at Mephiles, but the dark creature was ready, and struck Kaynyx in rapid succession across the torso and face. In retribution, Kaynyx slammed Mephiles aside, and picked up a fallen beam, and slammed the incredibly heavy object into Mephiles just as the dark being was starting to rise again. Then, before he could recover, Kaynyx gathered all his strength, and brought the beam down upon Mephiles' face with the loudest _CRACK!!_ any of them had ever heard.

Mephiles' eyes were squinted, and unblinking. The stone texture of his face was cracked grotesquely where the beam had impacted, and his body remained motionless.

Kaynyx sighed again, and faced the others. "I think we're good to leave now" he said wearily. "He won't be-"

"Kaynyx-!" Shadow started to shout, but it was too late: Mephiles had risen again, the hellish glow of the flames around them cast an even deeper aura of darkness around Mephiles as destruction flickered in his green, chaotic eyes. Then, drawing a stone blade, Mephiles heaved the blade's entire length into Kaynyx's back.

There was an odd silence as Kaynyx's eyes widened, he slowly dropped the beam, and collapsed before them.


	18. Kaynyx's Hour The Doomed Fortress

**Chapter Eighteen: Kaynyx's Hour/ The Doomed Fortress**

Mephiles stood over Kaynyx's fallen form, the wound already quite visible on the wolf's muscular back. Shadow and the others stood in shock, glancing at Kaynyx and Mephiles in horrified shock (none more so than Amy, who's eyes shimmered with tears and clung feebly to Sonic). Shadow's jaw twitched, not yet believing... the closest thing he had to a brother, created by Gerald, having gone through the same horrors, was dead...

Just like Maria... Gerald... the men and women who had worked on the ARK and lived there... all killed by Mephiles...

Shadow's eyes flashed madly, his grip around his dagger tightened until his knuckles popped. He glared at Mephiles, and everything seemed to slow down. Never in his whole life had Shadow wanted to kill somebody so badly...

But he was still vaguely aware of their dire time limit, now at about seven and a half minutes before the Aero Fortress was a thing of the past. Calculating with his powerful brain, he estimated they had about five minutes to defeat Mephiles, and use what little time they had left getting to a safe place. Shadow would've given anything for the Seven Chaos Emeralds, but he only had one to enhance his abilities somewhat. Mephiles, on the other hand, didn't seem capable of dying; every time he got hit by something hard enough to drop even the most able Mobian warrior, he'd arise with little more than an irritation.

Finally, Mephiles spoke, his voice literally shaking and deepening like a chasm with rage.

"FOOLISH WOLF!!" he bellowed at Kaynyx, and kicked the body aside, making everyone recoil in shock and glare at Mephiles.

But the demon's eyes were still locked on Kaynyx as he continued; "ALL who oppose me, ALL who stand in my way succumb to death and destruction!!" Then Mephiles slowly turned to face Shadow, and his green slits narrowed. "YOU, Shadow, should know that best of all after ARK! I cannot be killed; I am no mere mortal!! I am darkness! I am forever! I. AM. MEPHILES!!" and dark whips sprang from his hands and lashed the whole group back.

Sonic and Amy smashed into a wall together while the others thudded against the floor, rubbing the searing scars Mephiles' attack had left. Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles attacked Mephiles from the front, but only Sonic could keep up with the demon's speed.

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega, meanwhile all looked at each other and nodded. Shadow drew his red Chaos Emerald, summoned his energy, and called upon its power.

"Chaos... CONTROL!" he shouted, and suddenly, he and Rouge combined their strength into Omega's power system, and the robot fired an enormous, devastating beam into Mephiles' flank, and as time was still frozen, the dark being hadn't even felt the impact. They took advantage of this, and Rouge landed a solid kick, Omega fired a direct missile, and Shadow landed a Homing Attack. When time unfroze, Mephiles gave a shout of pain and went soaring into a pile of flaming scrap metal. When he arose, he started to lunge at Shadow, but Amy struck his side with her hammer, where Knuckles and Sonic sandwiched him with a powerful punch each.

"HA! How do you like them apples?!" Sonic laughed, but Mephiles snarled, and seized Sonic and Knuckles both by the neck, choking off their air, and threw them both at once to smash into Amy, who let out a squeal before the wind was knocked out of her. And as Shadow's team advanced to retaliate, Mephiles melted before them, slithered behind them, reformed himself, and slashed them all with a stone blade with about the same speed as Shadow's warping ability.

Team Dark fell down, but Mephiles didn't relent (since when does he?). Gathering his darkness, he let loose another surge of energy, sending the three of them sprawling onto Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles.

The red echidna shook his head, clearing the dizziness, and lifted a nearby beam to toss at Mephiles. And just as the large hunk of metal went soaring, Mephiles merely batted it aside, and forced Knuckles back down into the dog-pile of wounded, exhausted Mobians.

Rouge growled lowly to herself, but before she could even stand, the beam that Knuckles had knocked aside was thrown onto them, crushing them with its weight.

Mephiles strode forward, the flames reflecting in his eyes seemed to come more from within.

"I HAVE TOLERATED YOU WRETCHED SCUM FOR _FAR TOO LONG!!_" he shouted, and approached them. "NOW, I SHALL DISPATCH YOU ALL TO HELL!!"

But then, he was proved wrong, denied his vengeance on Shadow, by none other, than Kaynyx the wolf.

At first, they all braced themselves for further pain, but it never came. Sonic grunted, and managed to throw the beam off of them, and helped up Amy, who dusted off her dress.

Shadow glanced up, and saw that Kaynyx stood, but he appeared in a manner that none of them had ever seen before...

Kaynyx's eyes were not their calm, pale blue, or the dazzling sapphire, but now the pale blue eyes looked brighter, more at peace, and less clouded. He held Mephiles in an extremely tight chokehold, one of his claws stabbed into Mephiles (which prevented him from melting into ooze and escaping, so long as Kaynyx had a hold on the dark being). Mephiles' imitated quills of stone-like material cut deep into Kaynyx, and blood flowed freely down his muscular chest, but he paid it no heed. The wolf, though quite near death, was stronger now in his resolution than Gerald's augmentations had ever made him. Mephiles struggled desperately to escape, but not even his hellish strength could break through Kaynyx... no power could now, Shadow saw; Kaynyx's mind was going dark, but it was all focused into the task of holding back Mephiles. Now, Kaynyx had a sense of overpowering peace that lent him strength; he was going to die fighting Mephiles, avenging Maria, and allowing others to live... in this, he could not- _would not_ – fail.

"Shadow..." Kaynyx said wearily. "When you return... tell them... that I... fought bravely..." And slowly, Kaynyx turned to face a deep, pit of flames that several fuel canisters had melted. Then, he started to carry Mephiles towards it, slow and steady.

"Agent Shadow... tell them... I fought for... my comrades... for Maria..." Kaynyx now stood at the edge of the pit, gazing down in its depths nonchalantly. Shadow and the others tensed, now knowing what Kaynyx intended to do, but not quite believing he would...

"Tell them I fought... for humanity... that I intended... to bring hope to humanity!!" and with a final growl, Kaynyx hurled himself, and Mephiles, into the pit of fire, the dark creature giving a final cry as they descended.

Amy clasped her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide as dinner plates. "OH MY GOD!! KAYNYX!!" she screamed.

"Let's go get him!!" Knuckles started to shout, but Shadow held him back.

"No... he's gone now..." he said quietly. "Or he will be, soon... and we cannot join him... not yet."

"Affirmative. The Aero Fortress will overload in approximately 2.02 minutes" Omega stated. "Suggest we pull out IMMEDIATELY."

Rouge nodded. "That's command thinking, Omega!" she said, and they all ran up and out of the room, and onto the deck above. After clearing the smoke a good deal, Rouge pulled out a pair of long-distance binoculars, and spotted land about three hundred miles behind the Aero Fortress.

"Shadow! Warp us there!" she said, pointing. "Once we get there, we should have enough time to put ourselves into an even safer distance!"

Shadow merely nodded, and everyone gathered around him. Raising the Chaos Emerald high above him, he summoned energy to his warping ability, and they all disappeared in a flash of red light.

* * *

Aero Fortress, Hangar bay

* * *

Shade stood nervously by Dr. Ovator, with about eighty equally nervous Black Aliens and a hundred or hundred and fifty or so Metarex behind them. They could all feel the involuntary shudders and twitches within the walls, indicating that the power of the core was growing increasingly unstable and powerful. And Shade had heard enough from Shadow and the others to figure that the Aero Fortress was going to explode, and soon. So, Dr. Ovator worked furiously to unseal the hangar doors so they could escape. Already, Ovator had warmed up Shade's personal vessel, capable of carrying one pilot, three passengers, and some cargo room with some mildly powerful laser cannons on the front.

Shade sighed, and neared the doctor, who entered another code and wiped sweat off of his forehead.

"Ovator... could I possibly induce you to hurry along?" Shade said with mocking calm. "Meaning, we _are _about to be vaporized, mind you..."

"Got it!" Ovator exclaimed with maniacal relief, and immediately climbed aboard Shade's vessel. Sighing, Shade led two Black Arms Elites and one Commander Metarex aboard his vessel while the rest hurried to their ships. Manning the pilot's seat, Shade only hesitated a mere two seconds to allow the passengers to strap themselves in. Then, the ship lifted off the ground, and flew out the doors of the hangar. Flying for another fifty seconds or so, Shade slowed the ship's speed, but remained heading away from the fortress. Then, a Black Arms vessel emerged from the fortress, and headed for Shade's ship. But just as a Metarex vessel started to leave as well, the entire complex shuddered so violently Shade could feel trace tremors from where he was...

* * *

With Shadow and group

* * *

Now so far away from the Aero Fortress it appeared to be a distant plane, Shadow glanced at it as it suddenly seemed to twitch, and then blue fire suddenly engulfed it, and it seemed as if lighting sprouted from all around it. The others watched too, mesmerized by the sight. Then the blue flames turned to red, and they could see bits of rubble flying from it, eerily silent in the night sky...

Finally, a small, flaming bit went flying off, which they knew must be the majority of what was left, and it smashed into a small island (that Shadow had spotted earlier), ricochet off, and plunged into the ocean.

It was only then that the sound of the initial explosion reached them, but that too seemed eerily silent...

Amy whimpered, and suddenly sniffling, buried her face into Sonic's shoulder, shaking slightly. Sonic gently embraced her in turn, no trace of his usual smile on his face. Knuckles too, seemed gloomy, who half-heartedly kicked a nearby rock and sighed deeply.

Shadow, his head bowed, muttered a quick prayer to Kaynyx, hoping his death had been ended as quickly as possible after enduring all that pain... in a way, Shadow envied the wolf; he had died, he was free of his burden... and for all Shadow knew, Kaynyx was with Maria right now. Subconsciously gripping his dagger's hilt, Shadow heaved a deep, longing sigh...

But then felt a soft hand upon his shoulder, and a warm, equally soft body pressed lightly up against his back.

"Shadow?" Rouge said softly. The ebony hedgehog faced her.

"Shadow... I'm so sorry about this..." Rouge said somberly, her ears drooping. Sighing, but taking her hand and squeezing it, Shadow nestled his head upon hers, and they gently embraced each other.

* * *

Back with Shade

* * *

The echidna's eyes were sore from the multiple bright flashes the Aero Fortress had produced upon detonation. The first Black Arms vessel had been able to escape with forty of their soldiers, eighteen elites, and two giants, and several crates of supplies, but that was all. The Metarex ship that had been about to launch had been doomed before the explosion had even ensued; when the Aero Fortress shuddered as the core just started to overload, the Aero Fortress had slammed the Metarex vessel onto itself so hard the engines had been snapped clean off. Then, the explosion had ripped the rest of the vessel apart, sending a particularly large bit right at Shade's vessel, who had had to accelerate to flank speed to avoid. The Black Arms vessel had nearly keeled over and spun out of control, but they had managed to regain control at the last second and soar to safety. Now it glided silently next to Shade's smaller vessel, everything now too quiet for anyone's liking.

Shade sighed, and took his seat again. He faced Ovator, who had the co-pilot seat. The echidna was silent, and said; "Fly over the wreckage; if there's any survivors, we can hold them in the cargo room until we get to our fallback base."

Ovator nodded as Shade bent over the radar, lowering engine power to divert more energy to the scanner's sensitivity. If there were any survivors, they'd need them, for their army was at its weakest. Only two thousand Metarex and 1,500 Black Arms resided at the hidden fallback base, and with the Black Arms Shade was bringing, it'd barely be enough to keep the base good and secure.

* * *

Back with Shadow and group

* * *

After holding each other, letting the tight coldness around their chests thaw somewhat, Shadow lifted Rouge's face so their eyes met, and he gently kissed her lips, longing for their warmth. And Rouge kissed back, equally eager, for it had seemed like years since they'd first arrived on that god-forsaken floating hunk of metal...

"We did it, Rouge..." Shadow whispered finally. "We stopped the Havocs, blew up the strongest enemy aircraft in history, and decimated Mephiles' army, and probably killed Mauve... we did it!"

Rouge smiled at him, and nuzzled his soft, white fur she laid upon more than any pillow. "Yeah... I guess we did" she whispered softly, contently.

And as Sonic and Amy cuddled, sharing their warmth, Knuckles thought back to when he and Tikal had kissed, bringing a smirk to his face; now he had somebody to hold for once, too...

And as they sat their, under the cover of darkness, they knew that those that loved them would provide all the light they'd ever need.


	19. Epilogue: Darkness and Love Endure

**Epilogue: Darkness and Love Endure**

Shadow and Rouge, five days later, were returning from their honeymoon. Now officially man and wife, the two had never felt closer; Shadow even tolerated clasping hands in public now (cuddling and pecks were still strictly discreet). Arriving by plane, relaxed and at peace with the world, they started to descend the steps of the plane, both of their arms full of luggage.

"Hmm... my God, I've never had so much fun in my life!" Rouge said wistfully, lugging the luggage she carried into the trunk of their provided car. "All those drinks, all those pools, and tanning booths, and salons, and saunas... maybe we should divorce, remarry, and have another honeymoon!"

Shadow smirked, and nodded as he put in his luggage and shut the trunk. Then he approached Rouge, and when he was certain nobody was looking, nuzzled Rouge's nose and then kissed it, making her giggle seductively.

"Rouge... we don't need a fancy place and luxury to have a good time..." Shadow whispered, brushing up against her body and nuzzling her neck.

Rouge closed her eyes and chuckled softly, and swiftly kissed Shadow on the cheek, and walked towards the car, winking at her husband. Then she climbed into the passenger side while Shadow entered the driver's side. Rouge glanced over at Shadow, smirking, and ran a hand across his leg playfully. Shadow smirked devilishly, and pinched her bottom in turn, making her give a fake yelp of surprise. Finally, with another quick kiss, Shadow started the car and began the drive back to their house.

About halfway to Night Babylon, however, Rouge's communicator went off. Checking the caller, she hesitantly turned it on.

"Rouge here" she reported.

"Rouge? Agent Shadow? This is General Audi" a voice spoke, and they both remembered the command-staff member that had helped them and the supreme G.U.N. Commander plan their assault on the Aero Fortress. Shadow cast a quick glance at Rouge before returning his eyes to the road.

"Yeah... we're here" Rouge replied. "What is it sir?"

"The commander needs to see you at the Headquarters" Audi said. "We've had some rather... grim news. It's urgent, so we need you here ASAP."

Rouge suddenly frowned, and she and Shadow shared a glance. The last time they'd been called in, their honeymoon had been interrupted. Now, their post-honeymoon relaxing time was being interrupted. Sighing, Rouge nodded.

"Yes sir... we'll be right there" she said, and closed off the link.

Shaking his head, Shadow made a sharp turn right, and proceeded towards G.U.N. Headquarters (which had been repaired, the security doubled and rebooted, and an extra battalion of troops reinforcing it, and over two hundred new agent recruits were completing their training there to add to its might).

Rouge gazed out onto the black, starry sky, and recalled how, when Shadow had defeated Mephiles about a year ago atop those mountains, had flown her up to the edges of Earth's atmosphere for a good view of both space and the planet below. Sighing wistfully again, Rouge wished she had the ability to break the atmosphere with her wings, and just fly far, far away with her husband...

Shadow suddenly put an arm on Rouge's shoulder, waking her up from her day dreams. Shadow didn't smile, but the small, warm glow within his powerful crimson eyes assured Rouge all the same. Smiling softly, she grasped Shadow's hand as they drove onward.

* * *

Five Days Ago, ten minutes after the crash of the Aero Fortress

* * *

_I'm dead_ Mauve thought to himself. _The wolf killed me... I fell, broke my body, and drowned, right? So... why does my goddamn head hurt?!_

Sitting up forcibly, Mauve managed to clear his head long enough to realize three things: his wings hurt like hell and were almost completely broken. Secondly, there was a strong smell of salt and smoke in the air. And thirdly, his water-proof boots had let water onto his feet.

Looking around, Mauve saw that he lay on the shore of a very small, ravaged island; a nearby palm tree had been snapped off and completely crushed, and the trunk forced God knew how deep into the ground. And the rest of the island was black and broken, and Mauve had a feeling that quite a bit more of it was missing. In fact, there was barely enough room on this spit of land for him to lay on safely without drowning.

"So... I fell out of the fortress..." Mauve assessed to himself. "But I must've hit water... yeah, I remember it getting all cold. Then I was washed up over here, eventually... damn, that's a lucky break." Mauve managed to stand up and walk over to the blackened part of the island.

"But what the hell...?!" the words died in the bat's mouth when he saw a huge, smoldering wreckage up ahead...

Though severely ravaged, Mauve recognized enough to tell that it was the bow area of the Aero Fortress. But nearly all the walls seemed torn/blown/melted away, revealing the blackened skeletal structure of the fortress.

'_So..._' Mauve thought with a smirk, '_Mephiles' little play-place is trashed... guess that means I need to fix my wings, and find a new employer...'_

But then, a small aircraft flew low over the water, and Mauve sneered when he recognized it as Shade's ship.

'_Fine... let them come and pick me up_!' Mauve thought with a frown. '_As soon as I get medical attention, I'll leave those asses and get back to the free world.'_

But the ship didn't head for him. In fact, it just slowly drifted along the water, as if searching for something...

Then, the ship stopped, apparently seeing something Mauve couldn't...

* * *

Aboard Shade's vessel

* * *

"I've got a lock!" Ovator exclaimed, pointing on the radar to Shade. "Zooming in on image..."

Shade squinted at the tiny, dark-purple image Ovator had located, and smiled slightly.

"Ready the crane" he told the doctor, "And prepare for his arrival."

Ovator complied, opened up a large hatch on the floor, and lowered a crane intended to pick stranded people up.

Or in this case, their lord and master.

Delicately, a slightly-blackened, battered Mephiles was risen onto the ship.

* * *

With Mauve

* * *

The bat's eyes were wide; Mephiles had survived the explosion?! No, it didn't seem possible... not at all! Damn it all, was Mauve EVER going to escape this employment?! What was he, Mephiles' slave?

'_Screw this_' Mauve thought to himself, and sighed, his wings paining him too much to move. Just as well; they'd kill him if he tried to escape. At least if he sat there, obediently waiting, he'd live and get his wings healed. Soon enough, the ship flew in his direction. Sighing half in depress, half in relief, Mauve looked up as the ship's hatch opened, and the crane came down again. The bat thankfully latched onto it, and he was pulled aboard.

His reception, however, was far from warm. Shade gave a snort of disgust when the bat came on, and turned back to the pilot seat. Everyone else ignored Mauve... save for Mephiles.

Upon inspection, Mauve now saw that Mephiles' right foot was missing. Instead, black ooze leaked around it, and it seemed barely attached to Mephiles' leg. Mephiles was also cracked in many places, and dark ooze seemed to clot there like a mockery of blood. And other patches of skin seemed charred fairly badly.

Mephiles had, Mauve now realized, come quite close to being destroyed... not necessarily dead, but he'd have lost his deadly powers and his body.

"Mauve..." Mephiles finally spoke, slowly and deliberately. "You and Shade failed to hold Shadow the Hedgehog and his rat friends... but you are to be excused. For not even I was able to defeat them..."

Suddenly, Mephiles glared over at Dr. Ovator. The doctor took notice of this, but still tried to avoid his master's gaze.

"Doctor! Face me!" Mephiles snarled. Ovator reluctantly obliged, beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"Doctor..." Mephiles shook his head in mock pity. "When you were first constructing the Havocs, I was so pleased... and all their tests proved them promising. But NOW..." Mephiles gestured out of a window towards the wreckage of the Aero Fortress. "See what my faith in you has cost us, doctor..."

"I swear, master, this will only prove to be a setback in the future!" Ovator said, wringing his hands nervously. "I swear, most exalted majesty, I will improve my next creation for you... they shall prove much more reliable in the future! Their powers shall be second only to you, if I can help it..."

Mephiles' eyes narrowed at the doctor, who felt a lump form in his throat.

"Nevertheless, Ovator..." Mephiles said quietly, and a stone blade formed itself on his left arm. "You must pay the price for failing me like this... costing us so much with your inadequate robots!"

Suddenly, Mephiles appeared before Ovator, and seized the doctor by the neck with strength no force could pry. The doctor felt his pants go wet and warm, and he clutched feebly as he slowly suffocated.

"Don't choke kill me!! Wheeze Master, please display mercy on this fool! I shall not fail... gag never!"

"I won't kill you..." Mephiles said, and laughed coldly. Shade, nearby, cast an uncomfortable glance at them, sighed, and turned away; Ovator was merely getting what he deserved for placing them all at such jeopardy by failing to make the Havocs more adequate... but Shade still didn't like it.

Then, Mephiles jabbed his stone blade into Ovator's right eye, making Mauve's eyes widen in shock. The bat recoiled, averting his eyes. But his sensitive ears couldn't block out the horrifying screams that issued from Ovator.

Mephiles finally wrenched his blade free, and Ovator's eye popped free. Mephiles lifted it, and forced Ovator to look as Mephiles crushed the eye in the palm of his hand.

"Never fail me again, doctor..." Mephiles whispered coldly. "Or you will be _begging _for death before I'm even through!"

Ovator replied with a slightly affirmative whimper, and then curled into a fetal position as Mephiles allowed the Black Aliens to try and stop the bleeding. Mephiles took his seat again, and sighed.

"We are en route to our final base, correct Shade?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord" Shade replied casually. "We'll be plenty safe there; weapon facilities within it are producing standard-infantry mechs to further secure the base... but we're still much too weak to go on the offensive." Here, Shade sighed and gunned the ship faster. "We'll have to find another faction to join us."

"Yes... I have that covered, Shade" Mephiles said with a chuckle. "In fact, we may not need to... the weapon that Ovator learned of from G.U.N. shall solve all of our problems!"

Shade glanced back at his master as the Black Arms vessel formed up with them. "If I may ask... how will that be, my lord?" the echidna asked, slightly skeptical.

Mephiles just chuckled. "You will see, Shade... you will see..." he said quietly.

* * *

G.U.N. Headquarters, main control center, back in present day

* * *

Shadow and Rouge were just now entering the room that the commander and General Audi had spoken to them in prior to the assault upon the Aero Fortress. Upon entering, they saw the commander seated at the head of a long table. They recognized General Audi sitting just left of the commander, and five other officers that Shadow hadn't seen before, but Rouge had in her longer time in G.U.N.; they were the whole of G.U.N.'s High Command staff.

First, there was a female in about her mid-forties. She was known as Sub-Commander Elaine, who controlled the G.U.N. factions practically on the other side of the world, and commanded almost as much respect as the more elderly Supreme Commander. She looked over reports on a G.U.N. contraband laptop, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Determination was strong within her, Shadow could easily tell.

Secondly, there was Colonel-Major Jackson, who had only been part of the High Command Staff for a little over a year. He was tall, muscular, and in his late thirties. Jackson was famous for commanding a single platoon of G.U.N. troops, two agents, and about twenty mechs against a battalion of Eggman's mechs, and holding out for over two months until reinforcements had arrived. Jackson's troops had only had a small bunker and a single tank to hold out against all kinds of heavy artillery. He was a brilliant tactician, and extremely brave. Shadow had heard of Jackson's exploits before, and it had improved his overall outlook on humans somewhat.

Then there was Admiral Atmos, who commanded the G.U.N. Air-fleet, and Vice-Admiral Zackary, who was second-in-command of the fleet, and also controlled their sea division. Atmos was noticeably older, about in his mid-fifties, while Zackary was in his early forties. Both had shown bravery in the face of overwhelming odds, and their cooperation had driven off the Egg Fleet and the fleet of flying fortresses that the Black Arms liked to use multiple times.

Finally, there was another woman called General Catharine, who commanded a rather small faction of the G.U.N. military somewhere in the far eastern area. But, it was well renowned for training the best soldiers and agent the organization had to offer (Shadow and Rouge had gone there when finishing their training, in fact). This faction consisted of only 80,000 troops, 15,000 agents, and a small, but incredibly efficient mech factory. As for the other, larger faction between that and the one Sub-Commander Elaine controlled, was where General Audi resided.

Colonel Jackson looked up from his laptop at Shadow and Rouge, who stood at rigid attention. He entered in a few more keys, closed the laptop, and cleared his throat.

"Yes, Jackson?" the Supreme Commander mumbled in concentration.

"Sir... Agent Shadow and Rouge are here" Jackson said formally.

Everyone's heads swiveled to look at them, and for some reason, their gaze made Shadow feel uneasy. Rouge shifted her feet, but still remained at attention. Finally, the commander sighed and closed his laptop.

"At ease, soldiers" he said with a small, sad smile. Rouge and Shadow dropped their salutes.

Admiral Atmos sighed frustratingly. "If what he said was true..." he muttered, more to himself than anyone else, "Our fleet will pressed hard, day and night if we're going to hold the skies..."

General Catharine cast him a look. "I decommissioned fifteen more destroyers and eight assault carriers just yesterday, and eleven frigates are due early tomorrow" she said sternly. "All with a full, competent crew, I might add. Does that make any difference to you, Atmos?"

"Hardly" Vice-Admiral Zackary muttered. "That's barely enough to launch much of an attack on a base with anti-air turrets, not to reinforce the whole fleet against an enemy force of this scale!"

General Audi rubbed his temples. "Our heavy-armor vehicles have been upgraded, including the Juggernaut mechs. They're fairly effective anti-air themselves..."

"Sirs, what is this all about?" Shadow asked, getting somewhat impatient.

The commander looked over at them, nodded, and looked over at Sub-Commander Elaine.

"Go ahead" he said quietly.

Elaine nodded, and hit a series of commands on her laptop, which activated a holo-pad on the center of the large table.

"We received this message approximately thirty minutes before we contacted you" Elaine explained, and hit another series of commands. "Just listen carefully..."

Suddenly, a blue, semi-transparent image of Dr. Eggman appeared on the table, at about 1/8th the doctor's actual size. It stood up attentively, and then the doctor laughed.

"You should have destroyed me when you had the chance!" he chortled. "Now, G.U.N., my army and Egg Fleet is stronger and larger than ever! All my mechs are now faster, more efficient; my ships' armor has been lightened, and strengthened! I am invincible, and countless factories throughout the world continue to swell my army's ranks! Soon, you shall be crushed! And not even your precious blue hedgehog will be able to hold out against the waves of steeled mechs I have created! Soon, your army shall be in shards, and I shall establish the Eggman Empire! Bow down to me when the world is mine, and I may just take it easy on you! Farewell, weak-minded fools!" Eggman laughed again, and the image suddenly doubled in size, and it showed a large, flat landscape, that upon closer inspection, was completely covered by dots...

But then Elaine hit another series of commands, and numbers flashed over every mech...

"These don't represent single units..." she said darkly, "But the slightly taller ones represent 100,000, and the shorter ones symbolize 55,000, and the flatter ones represent 10,000 heavy-armor units. Giving us a total of... 1.8 million mechs there alone."

Shadow's eyes widened; that was enough to overwhelm any single G.U.N. position, except perhaps, the headquarters. But as amazing as this was, Shadow knew this force alone, even with a fleet equal to or larger than the G.U.N. fleet, this wasn't enough to conquer the world: G.U.N. had bases of operations scattered across the planet, and their total army consisted of 3.4 million soldiers, and 850,000 agents, and that was when war was looming over them; soon, through rapid recruiting and training, G.U.N. could have a total of 21.8 million within the first month.

"But get this..." Elaine continued. "We put the message on a lie-detector, and he came clean... well, arrogance aside. But anyway, this means this is only a fraction, however large, of his army."

"Meaning..." Rouge said thoughtfully, "He's a major pain in the ass for us again."

"That's command-terminology, Agent Rouge" Jackson complimented with a smirk.

The commander, however, was still frowning. "Shadow, Rouge... we need you on high alert. All bases are on standby, all agents are on call, the fleet has been mobilized, and our recruiting and mech-constructing facilities are running at full capacity" he told them. "Eggman could strike at any time, and we need everyone to be ready to retaliate. Can I count on you?"

Shadow and Rouge nodded in unison.

The commander gave a rare smile, and said; "You two are dismissed. Thank you for coming."

Shadow and Rouge saluted the command staff, and left the room.

They walked on in silence, for there was no need for words. On one hand, they weren't going to be living in complete peace until Eggman was defeated again. On the other hand...

Shadow and Rouge liked fighting alongside each other almost as much as kissing; the heat and passion and adrenaline they felt as they fought side-by-side, gave them a feeling of bond as they rarely felt. And also, it was just plain fun to kick asses.

They looked at each other, and they both smirked, holding hands as they left the building and headed towards their car.

Finally, after a good thirty minutes of driving, they arrived at home. Exhausted, and a small burden of knowing Eggman was up and about with a massive army upon their minds, they nonetheless smiled and felt their hopes remain high. Shadow and Rouge climbed into bed, and spent their first night of sleep together, at home, married, and a honeymoon to look back on.

Could anyone ask for anything more?

* * *

Meanwhile, on Angel Island

* * *

Knuckles and Tikal ran through some grassy plains around the altar where the Master Emerald shined brightly, casting both the pale moonlight and the green bright light of the Emerald's power upon the echidnas as they ran and laughed.

"Knuckles... wait, what are we doing?" Tikal laughed, trying to keep her breath as they ran. "Why are we running around the Master Emerald?"

"I don't know!" Knuckles admitted, but suddenly caught his foot on a rock, and did a clumsy summersault and landed flat on his back.

Tikal, right behind him, also tripped on the rock and fell face-first right next to red echidna. They both looked at each other, and burst out laughing again. When she caught her breath, Tikal snuggled up to Knuckles, and nuzzled his red chest.

"Mm... this is such a nice place..." Tikal commented quietly.

Knuckles nodded in agreement, putting an arm around Tikal and holding her even closer. Then they shared a glance, looking deep into each other's eyes...

Tikal smiled gently, and kissed Knuckles on the cheek, which made the echidna's face go as red as his dreadlocks.

"Hmm... you know, _you _should be the one kissing _me_..." Tikal teased.

Knuckles' face finally cooled a little, and smirking nervously, kissed Tikal's lips. Tikal closed her eyes, and wrapped her arms around Knuckles, pulling him deeper into the kiss.

Knuckles finally, after so long, felt he had more of a purpose than guarding the Master Emerald... now he felt love, and tender caring for Tikal. He'd guard her above all else... and for once, Knuckles put the Master Emerald as #2 on his mind.

The kiss finally broke, and Tikal laid her head on Knuckles's chest, her eyes closed.

"I love you, Knuckles..." Tikal whispered. "You're always there for me..."

"I love you too, Tikal..." Knuckles replied. "You're just... uh... I dunno... nicer than the rest... you don't insult me not being the smartest at everything..."

Tikal giggled, and looked at Knuckles in the eyes again. "Well, you're certainly not the sharpest tool in the tool box..." she said, "But you're certainly the strongest, bravest, the most loyal, and the most caring echidna I've ever met..."

Knuckles smiled back at her, and kissed Tikal's forehead.

* * *

At Amy's House, with her and Sonic

* * *

Amy and Sonic were snuggled up on the couch, enjoying each other's warm company. Just a couple days ago, Amy had gotten over Kaynyx's death, and now the couple were enjoying things normally; dating every other night, kissing at every chance they had, and so on.

Amy nuzzled Sonic's blue shoulder, and they gazed into the fireplace, which crackled warmly, the soft glow putting a sleepy relaxation upon them. Sonic looked down at her, and grinning, nibbled on Amy's ear, making her giggle wildly and start tickling Sonic. The blue hedgehog burst into laughter, and tickled Amy back, and she burst out laughing as well. Finally, after about five minutes, they were almost out of breath and lying next to one another.

Sonic looked at Amy's beautiful emerald eyes that he now found so intriguing. Ironically, Amy thought the exact thing about Sonic, and she nuzzled up to him, curled up against one who's love for her had grown to match her love for him over the past year. Amy relished in Sonic's warmth, almost falling asleep. Sonic kissed her lips gently.

"Hey, Amy, I need to ask you something!" Sonic teased, poking her and winking. "Don't get droopy-eyed on me!"

Amy smiled sleepily up at him. "Hmm..? What is it Sonic?" she asked.

Sonic's grin suddenly lost its humor, but the happiness in it seemed to grow, and his eyes were warmer than ever. Slowly, Sonic pulled a small box out of the cushions...

"Amy Rose..." Sonic whispered, and opened the box to show a 24-karat diamond ring with a golden band.

"Will you marry m-?" Before Sonic could finish his sentence, Amy had grasped him into a choking hug, making Sonic gag and writhe trying to escape. Amy was sobbing with joy onto Sonic's chest, and when she emerged...

"_**YES, SONIC!! OH YES, OF COURSE I WILL!!" **_Amy screamed so loud even the soft fire in the fireplace seemed to flinch.

Finally, Amy loosened her grasp on Sonic, who coughed and then breathed deeply. Amy slipped on the diamond ring, tears of happiness in her eyes. And then she and Sonic embraced each other...

Amy was the world's happiest hedgehog for the night.


End file.
